Powerless
by AvalonBay
Summary: [First in Powerless series]. It was the first time the rangers were ever truly powerless; trapped inside their school with an active shooter.
1. Chapter 1

**Powerless**

 **Summary – ** It was the first time the rangers were ever truly powerless; trapped inside school with an active shooter.

* * *

 **01**

* * *

Trini Kwan was a proponent of peace.

She believed there was good in everyone and everything and if there were any conflicts, it could be figured out with communication, listening, and words. Fighting and violence was never completely her thing and that was one of her reservations of being a ranger in the first place.

The idea of fighting against monsters and aliens when she was vehemently against violence as the fist line of defense?

Her gentle and kind nature worked well within her studies of kung fu; even with her lightning fast moves and powerful high kicks she would rather take down her opponents with the least amount of force. Trini used her mind as much as she used her hands and feet. Still, she quickly understood the responsibility that was thrust upon her and her friends to be rangers and took it very seriously. She was one of the protectors of Angel Grove, of course.

But for everything else she preferred to use her words. That's why when Ms. Appleby approached her to become a student mentor, someone who would help other students work their way through their problems, Trini quickly agreed to it. There were those who just wanted to talk, others who were having problems at home, and those who just needed a good influence on study habits to become better students. No matter how big or small the problem was, Trini would do the best she could to give them some peace of mind.

Even if it was only for a few minutes.

And she took that job very seriously.

So it was a surprise to her, after everything was said and done, that the one who had caused so much terror, was someone she thought she had been helping so much.

The morning started out like any other. She had finished getting ready for school, running a brush through her hair and had just finished touching up her makeup, when the phone in her room rang. Trini leaned across her bed to pick it up and immediately knew it was Kimberly when she put the phone to her ear.

Kimberly's light grunts of frustration sounded in the background of the call before she came on to say, "Trini, I'm having a major crisis here."

Trini couldn't help but smiled. Kimberly's life was always so passionate, even something as small as breaking a nail could lead them on some sort of an adventure. "What's going on, Kim?"

"I can't find anything to wear," Kimberly complained. "Everything I have is so…last year."

"Um…" Trini tapped her finger to her chin. "Didn't we just go clothes shopping yesterday? After our Big Sisters meeting?"

"Yeah, and that was totally fun, but I want to wear something special today. It's Tommy's and my anniversary, you know?"

"How could I forget, you've been talking about it for weeks," Trini pointed out. Her smile widened as she could practically see Kimberly's pout. They were such close friends that if Trini were on the outside looking in at them, it was like they were sisters. From the first time they met it was like kismet despite their opposites that really seemed to attract. "Kim, Tommy's going to love whatever it is you wear. But he doesn't care what you're wearing—" Trini was cut off as Kimberly started to giggle. "You know that's not what I meant."

"I know, I know." Kimberly continued to laugh to herself. "I'm just picturing the look on your face."

"Ha ha, you're so funny, Kim," Trini said.

Kimberly's laughter finally faded. "You sure he won't care?"

"Kim, I'm not trying to speak badly about Tommy when I say this, but I don't think he'd even notice if you chopped your hair off into a pixie cut or dyed it blonde."

Now Trini started to laugh to herself, knowing how oblivious the white ranger could be at the best of times, not to mention his issues with remembering his homework and being on time to class. It was starting to become a joke to them, really, to see how much they could convince Tommy he was forgetting. So far Zack was in the lead with getting their fearless leader to buy the black ranger his lunch, with Jason right behind to get him to lend some money.

"He loves you for you not for what you wear. Now, tell me, what are you guys doing for your anniversary." And Trini listened as Kimberly went on about the special lunch she prepared for the two to have in the school's quad and the walk in the park they would be going on after school where they would present their gifts to each other. It all sounded really nice and Trini was happy for her best friends. "Well, that sounds like you're going to have a great day today."

"Yeah, if Rita and Zedd don't mess it up," Kimberly said.

Trini was about to mention they would if they were smart, considering Zordon and Alpha were scheduled to go on their recharge that day. Though if anything did come up they still could just use their morphers and deal with the monster themselves. Still, the nagging thought of being completely alone, even if they had defeated monsters time and time again didn't sit well with her.

Whether it was a bit of foreshadowing of the day's events to come, Trini wouldn't think about it until much later. What was going to happen? They would go to school, meet up at the Youth Center afterwards to get their workouts in and work on their homework together, then go their separate ways to either hang out some more or go home to relax and do it all again the next day. Whether or not a monster attacked was to be seen and was something they were always prepared for.

It was that naiveté that ultimately made them so utterly unprepared.

Because when it all came down to it, they were still just teenagers.

* * *

 **A/N:** One of my first stories that doesn't focus so much on the rangers being rangers. I don't plan on this story being too long as I don't plan on chapters being so long either but we'll see how it goes.

This is rated 'T' for violence, just a fair warning now.

Also, I don't know if I'll have my OCs Avalon and Bailey in this story but let me know if you'd like to see them.

 **~Av**


	2. Chapter 2

**02**

* * *

When Trini arrived at school she immediately found her friends sitting on the front steps. Zack was moving and grooving to a hip-hop beat coming from a boom box nearby while Kimberly sat on the steps, braiding her hair. Billy sat nearby, tinkering with something in his hands, which Trini was sure had to be a morpher or a communicator, and Avalon sat on Kimberly's other side, aiding in braiding her hair.

They were all smiling brightly. Later she remembered how excited they were for the day, not knowing what was coming. How they were all so innocent.

But in that moment Trini was excited to see them all. She sat down on the steps with Kimberly and Avalon and turned to Billy, nudging him in the side with her arm. "What're you working on?" She asked.

"Well, I thought that while Zordon and Alpha were going on their reboot, that I would take the time to work on our morphers and communicators. I want to make adjustments to them to redefine the geographical server frequency rangers to make sure there's less high-end interference."

Kimberly paused in her movements and dropped her hands to her lap. "What?" She asked.

Trini smiled, tossing her hair behind her shoulder. "Basically he's saying that he doesn't want there to be any potential electrical surges that disrupt our connection to the Command Center and the morphing grid."

"So why didn't he just say that?" Avalon asked. Kimberly nudged her on the arm and the two laughed before going back to their hair braiding.

"Do you need mine?" Trini asked Billy. He nodded and she handed her communicator and morpher over. Her fingers brushed over the Saber-Tooth Tiger Power Coin that sat in the face plate and smiled as a little bit of yellow electricity surged around her fingertips. Much like it always did whenever one of them touched it. "D'you think its safe? With Zordon and Alpha being out of commission, too?"

"Plenty safe," Billy replied reassuringly. "Rita and Zedd seem to operate very similarly to Zordon and Alpha in terms that they'd need their own time to recharge as well. Chances are they're taking this day, too." His blue-green eyes flashed with mirth. "How many times can they be beat before deciding to take a break?"

Trini laughed.

She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her legs, looking over the sprawling grounds of Angel Grove high school. Everyone was divided into their little group of friends, the jocks with the jocks, the brains with the brains, but everyone appeared to be so happy. They laughed and talked with each other as they laid out on the grass, sat on the concrete steps leading up to the school, and lounged all over the tables set up for them to eat at during lunch.

And she couldn't help but feel the happiness that a lot of them were feeling was from her own hand.

Being in high school was hard enough, but being in high school while feeling alone was the worst feeling. That's what she and the other students who were part of the Angel Grove Mentor Committee tried to keep from happening. They worked hard to _really_ listen to the complaints and issues of fellow students and give advice when wanted. They linked them up to other students who felt to be a good friendship match or suggested different clubs and activities for them to become a part of, to step out of their comfort zone and meet new people. Sometimes they just listened rather than gave advice, other times they brought students' struggles to Ms. Appleby or Mr. Caplan if it were something too big for them to handle.

The Committee had been nothing but a success since it was first started, though there were some repeat offenders who came back continuing to state they weren't happy. But she continued to work hard, coming up with different ways to continue to be an effective listener. _Though maybe we helped too much sometimes,_ Trini thought with a wry smile. _There haven't been so many people that have come in lately._

A calm wind blew, moving Trini's hair through her face. Reaching up a hand, she smoothed it back and asked, "Where's Jason and Tommy?"

"They had a meeting with the football coach," Zack replied. He did a quick spin then pointed out his foot and turned off the boom box. He wiggled his way down the steps and sat down with his friends. "A captain's meeting or else Billy and I would've been invited to go along with them." He put his arm around Billy's shoulders and gently shook him. "But don't worry, my feelings aren't hurt."

"I don't think anyone could _ever_ say your feelings are hurt, Zack," Trini teased him. "You never stop smiling."

"I just like to see the bright side of things," Zack said. Then he rubbed his hands together, a sly grin coming to his face. "Now, why on Earth were you wondering what has been keeping our dear, loving red ranger so busy?"

Trini couldn't keep her cheeks from flushing and she hoped there was another gust of wind that would make her hair frame her face. She couldn't help it; something about the red ranger had really caught her eye lately. Not that she hadn't noticed it before, he was very handsome and a lot of girls in school chased after him whether Jason noticed it or not. Actually, she wasn't sure if he ever did. When girls flirted with him he flirted right back but didn't seem to take it too seriously. His martial arts training seemed and ranger duties were much more important in his eyes.

And Trini admired him for that. Her own martial arts training was just as important to her and the two even worked out together, teaching a few things the other didn't already know. She cherished those moments they had together. Not that she didn't like being around her friends, but sometimes it was nice to get that one-on-one time. She could admit the way he smiled at her felt and made her feel really special and she found herself looking for it more and more as the days went on.

Trini was never one who embarrassed so easily, but Zack seemed to have a special talent for teasing people about their love lives. He worked hard to make original, teasing jokes about Tommy and Kim—especially stating that they could be likened to Barbie and Ken if they had the right colored hair. _Of course,_ Trini noted, _All of that does out the window once Angela is involved._

She spotted the pretty African-American teen talking animatedly to her friends, holding her books to her chest as they approached the front of the school. Zack looked over and smiled, raising his eyebrows when he saw her. As if sensing his eyes on her, Angela looked up and surprised him by waving as she walked by.

"Oooh," Kimberly teased.

"Oh, what that woman does to me," Zack breathed, pressing his hands to his chest.

"Hopefully something you can share, rather than horrify us with, mate," Avalon teased. She pulled her long hair behind her shoulders and secured with an orange scrunchie. "How long have you been chasing after her now, mate?"

"Long enough for her to decide whether or not she actually likes him," Billy remarked. He pushed the morphers and communicators into his backpack and hugged them between his knees. "She's been giving him the runaround for a while."

"And you still like her?" Avalon's eyebrows came together. "I don't know, Twinkle-Toes, don't you think you should give up? You shouldn't actually have to try too hard when it comes to liking someone."

"I agree," Billy said.

"Hey, you only get one chance at life and I'd rather say I tried than sat around and complained later when something doesn't happen," Zack crossed his arms. The ever-present smile still on his face.

At least he could make fun of himself for it.

Trini wasn't really sure how to react to her growing feelings for one of her closest friends. She knew he was handsome and had a smile that managed to charm everyone. But the growing butterflies in her stomach were starting to distract her more than it used to. She even got sweaty palms like everyone said would happen, sometimes even clamming up a little when Jason was speaking to her, only managing to smile and nod in response. He made her feel completely comfortable and uncomfortable all at the same time. She often looked at Tommy and Kimberly and wondered how they managed to do it. Sure, she and the rest of the group teased them about their need to be around each other all the time but it was mostly out of friendliness and a little bit of envy.

How were they always around each other and able to navigate though those nerve-wracking feelings of being their best self and not making a fool of themselves all at the same time? How did they manage first kisses and holding hands and staring lovingly into each other's eyes as if no one else was around when it made Trini even more nervous than she could ever comprehend?

How was Zack able to flirt up a storm with a girl that continued to turn him down? He said he was wearing her down as she didn't react to him with complete disgust anymore, but Trini wasn't so sure. Still, Angela did seem to smile a lot more when Zack was around now. How did he hold so much confidence?

Then there was Billy and Avalon. Avalon was new to Angel Grove having transferred at the beginning of the year and despite the culture shock of having from Australia to California, she and Billy hit it off pretty fast. Trini knew Billy was really shy and not as forthcoming with his feelings for girls—having had been all but pushed into talking to Melissa, Marge, and Laura, the last three girls he had been interested in. Bu he and Avalon seemed to have more in common than their Opposite Attract personalities—with Avalon being a more brazen and outgoing type—would have them seem. She and Kimberly spoke about it from time to time with Kimberly's ploys of playing matchmaker between the two despite the two seeming to be doing just fine on their own.

So how had they all managed to do that while she had never held a boy's hand except save for Zack the one time they were in that play together, posing as Mr. and Mrs. Noah Ark? And the thought of kissing one, let alone Jason, made her even queasier than her fear of heights made her. If she could get over that fear, how was she able to get over her fear of…closeness? _Maybe if I had some putties threatening to kill me if I didn't kiss him…_

Trini smiled at her little joke.

Kimberly immediately noticed and looked over, pressing her fingertip into Trini's dimple. "What're you smiling about?"

"I have a guess," Zack teased.

Kimberly turned and swatted Zack on the thigh. "Leave her alone," she warned. The students suddenly started to steam into the school to go to their locker, knowing the first bell was going to ring soon. Kimberly looped her arm through Trini's as they got to their feet and started towards the school. "Don't listen to him, he's a nut job."

"I heard that," Zack said, falling into step on Trini's other side with Avalon and Billy joining them as well.

"Well, you have ears," Avalon pointed out. She reached up and flicked them with her finger. "And pretty big ones at that, mate."

"Oh, you don't want to do that, Ava," Billy warned her. "Zack's a little sensitive about his Aurae."

"Why can't you just say 'ear' like the rest of us, Smurf?" Avalon asked.

"Because someone has to help you get your science grade up," Billy shot back. He laughed as Avalon reached out and shoved him on the arm, muttering 'boofhead' as well.

Trini and Kimberly exchanged knowing smiles as they all arrived at their lockers. "So where are you guys headed first period?" Trini asked.

"I've got political science," Avalon said, looking to the schedule that was taped on her locker door. "Billy and Jason, too."

"Yeah, and thankfully it's the only class with just Bulk. So we can actually learn something without Bulk and Skull interrupting every two minutes," Billy said. He put his backpack into his locker and took out the books for his class, locking it when the bag was tucked safely inside. "What about you?"

"Oh, we have a free period right now," Kimberly said, motioning between herself, Zack, and Trini. "But I really need to study for this killer Math test coming up so I was going to go to the study center. What about you guys?"

"I have a meeting with the Mentor Committee," Trini explained.

"I'll come with you, Kim," Zack said. "If we're going to fail this Math test then we should fail together." He put his arm around Kimberly's shoulders.

"Doesn't Angela have a free this period, too?" Billy asked.

Zack paused for a moment then held up his hands. "You caught me," he said dramatically, making Trini laugh. "I'm going to use this free period to try and convince her to go out with me."

"Again," Avalon pointed out.

"I didn't say it was the first time," he defended himself.

Trini laughed again. The bell rang, signaling the students to get to class. She waved to Avalon and Billy who turned to go to their class before she and Kimberly held hands and, with Zack, walked towards the student center, though Trini would be going to the library for her meeting. As they pushed through the crush of students, Trini spotted Marge Brown, Billy's ex, coming their way. She was part of the Mentor Committee, too, the Vice-President to Trini's Presidential role.

"Hey Trini," Marge greeted her. "Hey guys," She added to Kimberly and Zack.

"Hi Marge," Kimberly and Zack harmonized.

"Hey," Trini said with a light laugh. "Are you headed to the meeting?"

"I'll be there in a minute, I actually need to get something from Ms. Appleby," Marge said. She ran her hand over her long ponytail and added, "She has a list of different parts of the Angel Grove community that we could get to sponsor us and I was going to bring that."

"That's great!" Trini gushed. She couldn't help it, she really felt like they were helping the school and the community all at the same time. "Do you want me to go with you?"

"Oh, don't worry. I was just headed there."

"It's no problem, I…" Trini trailed off her as her eyes shifted to the side. Towards the student standing down the hall that was glaring in her direction.

No, not just glaring.

Trini gasped and swallowed hard. Her body went cold as she realized she was staring down the cold, metallic tunnel of a gun. Pointed directly at her. Everything moved in slow motion. She could hear Kimberly and Zack asking if she were okay, their voices muffles as was the rest of the sound of the hallway—she would note later. It was like she had suddenly gone deaf. She saw Marge start to turn her head towards the direction Trini was looking in.

Then there was a deafening sound.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Students screamed and started to run, the surge knocking Trini to the ground. She could feel Kimberly fall along with her, then felt the pink ranger's hand forcefully ripped from own before the two were swept up in the chaos.

* * *

Billy and Avalon had just sat down in their class with Mrs. Casey.

It wasn't more than two minutes after they sat down, and roll was being called, with Bulk interrupting with a burp after his name was questioned. Maybe Billy had a sixth-sense about this sort of thing, but the moment he sat down in his seat, spreading out his books, he knew something was wrong. A cold shudder went through him, a dark cloud hung over his head, something.

His ranger instincts kicking in?

He wasn't quite sure what it was but it wasn't good.

Mrs. Casey had just announced what the topic of class that day was, the American Government, when the atmosphere immediately changed. It happened in the split second that Mrs. Casey stopped speaking to catch her breath.

The three popping sounds.

Then the sound of rapid footsteps and screaming.

Billy sat up straight and looked around at his classmates, as confused as they were about the sudden noise, but Avalon immediately stiffened.

She knew the sound of gunshots anywhere.

* * *

Tommy and Jason had left the coach's office about five minutes before the gun was fired. Still, it took them that long to walk from the athletic complex to the main campus of the school. They heard screaming a few seconds before seeing their fellow students racing towards the buses that lined the front of the school.

"What the-?" Jason said, stepping out of the way of a crush of students heading right for him. Coach Nielson appeared behind them.

"What the hell's going on?" He demanded.

"Trini! Kimberly! Zack!" Tommy and Jason both turned around at the shouts of their friends names and found Marge running through the crowd, her head on a swivel as she went. "Trini!" She spotted Tommy and Jason and immediately ran to them.

Tommy gasped, noticing her disheveled look. Jason grabbed onto her. "Marge, what's going on?"

"Someone has a gun inside, they're shooting," She managed to say despite the tears coming to her eyes.

"Oh my God," Coach Nielson murmured.

"I was…I was with Trini and Kimberly and Zack—"

Tommy felt his blood run cold. "Are they okay?" He couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to her. But Marge continued to babble. "Marge! Are they okay?"

"I-I don't know. I-I lost them in the crowd."

"Marge," Jason said in a low tone. Tommy froze at the tone and locked eyes with Marge. She turned back to Jason then noticed his gaze on her blouse. She took a step back from him and looked down at her blue blouse, now dark purple with blood stained across her front. "Mare, are you…?"

"N-no," She gaped. "It's not…it's not my blood." She frantically wiped at her shirt. "It's not my blood, I'm okay."

"Someone's been shot," Tommy said. He brought his hands up to his mouth and started to call out, "Kim? Kim, where are you?" A hand grabbed at his arm as he started forward and he found Coach Nielson grabbing him. "Coach, let me go!"

"Like hell I will, get on the bus, Oliver!" Coach Nielson demanded, motioning towards the line of buses that continued to fill with students and pull away from the school.

Tommy wrenched his arm from Coach Nielson's grasp. Didn't he understand? "Coach, Kimberly's in there. I have to find her!" And he started running to the school before anyone could stop him.

Jason sucked in a deep breath, running his hand over his hair. "Where were you when the shots fired?"

"We were on our way to the study rooms," Marge replied.

"Thanks." Jason squeezed her shoulder before taking off after Tommy towards the school.

"All students on the bus now!" Coach Nielson shouted after them.

But Tommy and Jason continued running into the school.

* * *

Principal Caplan ducked down into his office and pointed at his secretary barking, "Call 911! We've got an active shooter!"

* * *

 **A/N:** If you couldn't guess I got inspiration for this from the One Tree Hill episodes _With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept_ as well as the Virginia Tech shooting which happened this month ten years ago _._ Also, I picture a realistic Angel Grove to be a fairly big school in terms of all of the rooms they could be in.

Also, I have decided to have Avalon in the story for the same reason that, apart from the more well known Power Rangers characters, I've decided to add Marge; different character personalities mean different reactions to shared scenarios. However, Av's not the main focus of the story at all; Trini is the main-main character.

Thank you _so much_ for everyone who favorited and reviewed and alerted the story so far. I'm so glad you guys liked the idea. It's given me so much motivation to make this the best story I can make it.

 **~Av**


	3. Chapter 3

**03**

* * *

" _OH MY GOD!"_

"Close the door! _Close the door! Lock it!"_

Billy was up and running as soon as the words reached his ears. Everything around him slowed down, his eyes darkened around the edges, shifting into tunnel vision. His breath sounded extremely loud and incredibly close, the sound of his heartbeat just barely drowning it out. As Billy took the steps for the front door he could see his classmates turning towards each other in confusion. He could distinctly see their lips moving as they asked what was going on, but didn't see any words coming out.

He could see them slowly turning towards the door at the sounds they couldn't quite place, but didn't move to take cover, duck or hide. He could see Ms. Appleby flinch and shudder with each booming sound that continued to blast. He could see the fear slowly rising in Avalon's eyes as she directed for Billy to close and lock the door, voice shrill and filled with panic.

Billy reached the door, coming to a quick stop when he found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. He found himself frozen in place, everything in his body screaming at him to move or do something; even he didn't get so shell-shocked when there were putties and other monsters around. But this was different; this was a human, an everyday teenager, who was pointing a gun directly at him. Then he started to twist away, grabbing onto the door handle to slam the door shut. He didn't move fast enough.

There was another loud, deafening boom. Screams erupted around him from his fellow classmates who finally moved to dive to the ground, moving to get out of the way. There were a few more shots before Billy staggered backwards, almost as if he had been punched. Then Avalon was at his side, crouching low to the ground and using her feet to slam the door shut. Billy looked down, watching as the handle to the room started to rotate downwards and he grabbed it, leaning to press his body weight against it before it could open again. Billy felt the handle press into his palm before violently shifting up and down.

Then there a few more hollowed blasts and everything faded away to silence.

There weren't any footsteps outside, students weren't screaming by the room. Nothing. No sound at all. And that was the eeriest part of it all. Angel Grove High School was never quiet, there was always something going on. When classes were in session there were students who had free period, seniors who would go off campus or roam the halls talking to their friends, laughter coming from classroom sand the voices of teachers reprimanding or teaching.

But now, nothing.

Billy let go of the door handle and flipped the deadbolt, taking steps back away from the door. Everything was still muffled around him, he couldn't even hear the sound of some of the girls that started to cry, loud, heartbreaking sobs. He couldn't hear Ms. Appleby on the classroom phone, explaining what was going on and how they needed and ambulance as soon as possible. He didn't hear his classmates shouting his name, trying to get his attention until he looked down at Avalon.

Avalon looked back up at him, her face relaxing in relief. But only for split second. Then her eyes lowered and they widened, her mouth dropping open and she started to say something. Her mouth opened and closed and she pushed herself back from the door. The door that, as Billy now noticed had a few holes in them. He reached out to touch them, the skin of his fingertips catching on the bent metal. It was warm to the touch. That shocked him back to realization. Everything moved back to focus, his mind moving at warped speed.

"Oh my god. Oh my god," one of the girls was sobbing. "They're shooting at us."

"They're not shooting anymore, moron!" one of the guys said.

"What do they want?"

"How do you know it's 'they'? There was only one gun going off."

"We don't even know it was a gun."

"What do you think that sound was? A bomb? Bombs doesn't sound like that."

"Oh and you would know."

"Everyone stop!" Ms. Appleby said, turning from the telephone. She placed it to her shoulder, hands shaking. "Please, just be quiet. Turn out the lights. Everyone, please be as calm as possible. The police are on their way. There's going to be help soon." She turned her attention to the door and her lips parted, letting out a very quiet 'oh my god'. "Billy," she said slowly. "Billy, sit down."

Billy noticed all eyes turned his way. He saw the startled expression, the horrified expressions. Saw faces crumple up as they started crying. Heard screams ring out seconds before the sounds of hysterical crying all over again. And yet, Billy was confused. He started to turn but found something pulling on his arm, stopping him.

Avalon was now on her feet, holding his arm as tightly as she could. He could see the tears in her eyes, clinging to her mascara covered eyelashes, threatening to spill down over her cheeks. "Billy," she said. "Sit down."

"Why?" Billy asked.

His voice sounded muffled. A roaring came to his ears. Then he followed his friend's gaze and found a dark red spot on his shirt, right above his hip, steadily growing wider as the seconds passed. Billy moved his hand to it, pressed his fingers against the spot and found the liquid staining his fingertips. He rubbed his fingertips together, watching it.

Then the pain came, a pain that started as a sting then slowly grew into a burning that encompassed the entire right side of his body. Billy felt his legs crumpling beneath him, stumbling as Avalon wrapped her arms around him and slowly lowered him to the floor.

"Billy, keep your eyes open," she cried. "Stay with me."

He took in a few gulps of air, his lungs desperately trying to hold onto as much air as possible. His body slowly started to go cold. He knew what that meant, he was going into shock. His adrenaline was starting to wear off. Mentally he recognized it for what it was; his body went through that day after day of fighting off monsters. He had gotten used to it because of their powers giving them an enhanced physiology. But those were mystical powers and creatures that they didn't truly know where it came from.

This was a man-made thing.

That's what he told himself as he realized that he had been shot.

* * *

"Hurry up, hurry up. Come on, come on."

Kimberly ushered as many students as she could into the classroom before closing the door, flipping off the light. She took a deep breath and slid to the floor, wrapping her arms around her legs. Her hands slipped over the skin of her legs, streaking them red. Kimberly looked at the streaks then turned away, closing her eyes. She couldn't stand to look at the blood. Her palms had been ripped open from the glass that had exploded from the light bulb that had been shot out. She had been holding Trini's hand when the first shot rang out, immediately breaking the bulb and darkened the hallway.

Then with the sweep of panic, Kimberly felt herself falling to the ground. Her hand slipped from Trini's as she fell, hands outstretched, onto the broken glass. It immediately tore into her skin, embedding into her palms as she did so. But she didn't feel it, her own panic rising when she realized her fellow students were racing around them, stepping on her hands, arms and legs. Kimberly brought her arms up to cover her head, feeling her body get knocked back and forth.

Then there were a few other shots. The screaming around them rose in pitch, volume, and panic, the wave around them moving faster and faster.

"Kim! Kim, come on!"

Kimberly felt her arms tugged up above her head and looked up to find Zack grabbing her. He then stooped down and lifted her up into his arms, cradling her against him before he started to run to the nearest classroom. Kimberly looked over and noticed Zack's arm was bleeding a rivulet of blood and pointed it out to him.

"I know, I think I got hurt," he said as he ran.

"Trini!" Kimberly cried. "Where's Trini?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen her."

"We have to find Trini."

"Kim, we have to get to safety!"

Zack dropped Kimberly to her feet as soon as he found a room. Now they sat quietly inside with their other classmates, trying to catch their breath as the halls became quiet. Kimberly closed her eyes, tears finally falling down her cheeks. Everything hurt. Her palms continued to bleed; she could feel the glass shifting inside them. As she moved her hands over her legs she could feel the glass nicking at her skin. Zack, who sat beside her, brought his hand up to grasp his shoulder. He was breathing heavily; sweat starting to fall down his face. Every few seconds he could clench his teeth as he sucked a breath through them.

"Zack?" Kimberly whispered.

"I don't know," Zack whispered back. "I don't know if I was hit…if it grazed me, I don't know, Kim."

"What about Trini?" Kimberly asked. She looked over towards the door to the room, trying to see if there was any shadows coming from outside. Trying to see if there was anyone around. The human part of her knew to stay put, that if she put herself out there she was going to be in more danger than ever before. But the hero part of her was itching to do something.

Looking over at Zack, Kimberly knew he felt the same way. She could see his dark eyes darting back and forth, trying to find a good way to get out of the room without anyone finding them. Wanting to save as many people as they could before the gunman, or men, she didn't know how many there were, came back. Kimberly looked around the room, too and immediately knew it was pointless. There weren't any windows in the room for them to break through and out of. The only way in and out of the classroom was from the door.

And even if they did leave the room, with how far they were from the front doors of the school or the exits, it gave ample time for the shooters—or shooters—to find them and pick them off one by one. Kimberly closed her eyes, shaking her head. She moved her hands up to rub her arms, wincing as the glass continued to scratch her. Her fingers moved over her bare wrist. That's right; they didn't have their powers available to them. Their communicators were all in Billy's locker and as it was, Alpha and Zordon weren't around to help them either.

They had to figure out something else to do.

"We need to get out of here," a gruff voice said. Kimberly closed her eyes, already recognizing the voice as Bulk's. She leaned over to look at him. He sat a few spaces down from him and Kimberly, shaking his head. "There has to be something we can do."

"No," Kimberly said. She curled her fingers into her palms, wincing at the sight of the blood. She had never been squeamish before, but now… this was different. Even with their powers it took so long for their bumps and bruises to show. But now…they were ordinary humans stuck in an unordinary situation. An almost fantastical one. School was supposed to be safe. "We need to stay put. It's procedure with a lockdown. We have to wait until its safe."

"And I'm saying its crap," Bulk snapped. He started to raise her voice. "If whoever is out there is a student, they know where we are and it's not going to take much for that psycho to-"

"—Why would you call him a psycho?" A voice broke in.

Kimberly exchanged a glance with Zack and the two leaned over to the source of the voice. A Hispanic boy about their age sat in the corner of the room, looking back at the two with wide eyes. They were so wide they almost bugged out of his head, as if he had seen the horrors of the world and wouldn't forget it anytime soon. Finally, he wrapped his arms around his upraised knees and buried his face against them when Bulk said, "Anyone who'd want to do something like this is a psycho."

Kimberly's eyes narrowed for a second as she tried to figure out where she'd seen that boy before. He looked so familiar to her. Though, all the same, she couldn't place him because she realized she probably _hadn't_ seen him before. The only people she knew were her friends and those who were in her clubs and extracurricular. Everyone else were just people who she passed by day after day, they may have spoken up in class every now and then but she didn't pay much attention to them.

Her life was divided by being a normal teenager and being a power ranger. And as important as being a power ranger was, they weren't invincible. She knew that now. It was the worst slap in the face life had ever had to offer her. To prove that no matter how many times she saved the world, the world wasn't always going to save her.

Then Kimberly's heart sank as she realized something.

She had no idea where Jason and Tommy were. Jason was going to talk to the football coach to figure out some game plans for the big game that weekend. He was going to meet up with them before class. Tommy was supposed to meet up with her for lunch that day. For their anniversary. And now she had no idea where he was, if he was okay….

Tears started to come to her eyes.

Not just because of being hurt, not just because she was afraid for Tommy, but because her perfect view of the world had been shattered. How would they be safe anywhere else? School was supposed to be a safe haven for all of them. They were to go to class, do their homework, play on their sports teams, and go home to complain to their parents about the homework they had. Kimberly reached up and grabbed onto chunks of her hair, ignoring the pain that continued to radiate from her hands.

She couldn't feel it anymore, anyway.

She couldn't feel anything anymore. Tears fell down her cheeks and she took in sharp breaths to calm herself down but it didn't work. Her shoulders shook, a lump appeared in her throat, and her eyes burned. Everything hurt and yet nothing hurt all the same. Everything felt heavy but she felt like she was floating. She was stuck in the middle of her past and what was to happen in the future.

Nothing was ever going to put it back together again.

* * *

Tommy and Jason quietly moved through the school. They stepped over fallen backpacks, notebooks, CD players, and other discarded items. Posters were ripped off walls, locker doors hung open, everything was quiet. Jason looked at his watch then sighed when he realized he didn't have his communicator or morpher on him. He had given it to Billy as soon as he arrived at school.

"Hey," Jason whispered to Tommy.

Tommy immediately whipped around to face him, eyes darting around the hallway. Then they rested on Jason and he could see Tommy tense even further. He wasn't going to go anywhere without finding Kimberly and all Jason was doing was slowing him down.

"Do you have your morpher?" He asked.

Tommy's hand immediately went to his waist for his communicator. His eyes shifted towards the ceiling for a brief moment before he closed his eyes, his lips moving wordlessly. Jason knew what he was doing; he was cursing himself for not having his communicator or morpher. He had given his to Billy as well. Okay, they were going to have to do this without their powers, with some other plan.

Jason walked over to Tommy and grabbed his shoulder, gently shaking it before they started off down the hallway again. There was no one around. There were no sounds around, heightening the tension Jason felt in the air. The dark feeling that something was following along behind them, swirling around them, waiting for the perfect chance to strike them down.

Jason took a deep breath as they continued walking along. He glanced down at the ground, noticing smears of blood on portions of the floor. As soon as he saw them, Jason slowed to a stop. He stared down at the smears as they shone bright red. Just like his own clothes. Jason looked down at his red and white plaid hoodie and matching red pants. The same shade of red as the blood that sat on the floor. How crazy, how scary it was to see they were the same color. A color that he wore every day in and out of suit representing what pumped through his body day after day to keep him alive. But it wasn't in someone's body at the moment; it was out, forcefully and violently ripped out.

Someone was hurt and he had no means to go help them.

That hurt worse more than anything. He couldn't stand the thought of anyone weaker being hurt. But was that the case here? Was this a case of someone being weak having been hurt, or had the weak turned around and tried to exhibit some sort of power they didn't ordinarily have?

"Jase, come on."

Jason looked up and found Tommy at the end of the hall, beckoning towards him. Jason took a few long steps to meet him. Then the two turned the corner and Tommy found an open office. He ducked inside and Jason followed behind him. They pressed their backs against the wall and waited, trying to hear if they had been detected. Waiting to know if they'd be the next ones who'd have a bullet pass through their bodies at a moment's notice, slinging blood and gore as far as the next wall.

Nothing.

Jason finally let out the breath he hadn't noticed he was holding and turned to find Tommy rifling through the room. He found a baseball bat and flipped it through his hands. Jason gave him a 'duh' look. "What do you plan on doing with that?" He asked.

Tommy gave him a similar 'duh' look in response. "I'm going to the student center to find Kim."

Jason shook his head. "Tommy, I get you're worried about her. I am too; I'm worried about all of our friends. But you can't just go running in there with no game plan."

"I didn't ask you to follow me," Tommy pointed out.

"And I wasn't going to sit back and watch you get your brains blown out," Jason replied. He spoke heatedly but his voice never raised more than a murmur. "You think a baseball bat is going to stop a bullet? We need to wait for the police."

"They police aren't going to do anything but wait and game plan. They always do that and when they do, it just leaves room for someone else to get hurt," Tommy said.

"I know that!" Jason licked his lips. He took a few steps back from his friend and pressed his hands to his hips. He tilted his head all the way back, willing the tension to leave his shoulders. Willing his body to stop vibrating rapidly. He could feel the muscles in the back of his thighs threatening to make him fall to the ground. Then he tilted his head down to the ground and he started.

"What?"

Tommy's voice sounded behind him, it sounded so far away.

Jason could only stare at the blood stains on his shoes. He must've walked through the puddles in his haste to make sure Tommy didn't get too far ahead of him. He was walking around with someone else's blood on his shoes. Jason took a deep breath and turned back to Tommy, who was watching him intently.

"Someone has a gun in here," he said.

"I know that, Jase," Tommy hissed. Jason could see the emotion in his eyes as he said so. "But what if something happens to Kim? What if we walk away from all of this to let the police handle it and something happens to Kim? You think you can live with that?"

Tommy's eyes searched Jason's for a long moment. Jason looked back at him, mulling the words over in his head. It wasn't like Kimberly was the only one in trouble. Billy, Trini, Zack, Avalon…they were all in danger, too. Jason ran his hands over his face, thinking about it. Trying to rationalize. Billy and Avalon were supposed to be in their political science class with Ms. Appleby so they had to be safe. Kimberly, Zack, and Trini had been on their way to the student center. Marge saying something about a meeting they were going to…

They had to have been in the line of fire exactly.

Zack he knew would take care of himself and the girls, Kimberly was feisty and could take on anything that came their way but Trini…she saw the good in everyone. He knew, with a gut feeling, that something had to have happened to her. If there was a shooter in there, she would've tried to talk them down. She was hurt, and the thought alone made Jason suddenly feel a rush of fiery anger. He should've been there with them, to protect them a little, to protect her and he wasn't there…

"It's Kim, Jason," Tommy whispered.

Jason nodded.

He understood.

Tommy nodded back. He gripped the baseball bat in his hands and peered out the office window. There was still no one in the hallway. Jason followed Tommy out into the main area of the school, finding exactly where Trini, Kimberly, and Zack had been moments before. A light bulb had been knocked out, darkening the hallway. There were shards of glass on the ground smeared with blood.

Jason swallowed hard and forced himself not to stare as they got closer.

Tommy knelt down and stared at it. "It could be Kim" he said.

"Or Trini," Jason agreed. Tommy twisted around to look at him. "She was headed to the library. None of those doors lock, it's not safe."

"I have to find Kim."

"I know."

Jason and Tommy looked at each other for another long moment before turning and headed in the opposite direction.

* * *

 **A/N:** So alerts apparently aren't working, but some people on Twitter have told me they'll still check to see if I updated AND I always post the links to my updates on Twitter (AvalonAvenue) so please follow me there if you want updates while we wait for FFN to fix itself.

I hope you guys liked this chapter. Were you right on who was hurt and who wasn't? What do you think will happen next? Also, if you read them, _New Beginning, Headstrong,_ and _Beautiful Disaster_ will be updated soon.

 **~Av**


	4. Chapter 4

**04**

* * *

Trini sucked in a deep breath, steeling herself. Then she let it out again. In and out. In and out. Long enough to slowly start to calm down. Long enough so that her entire body relaxed and she could move into a state of mental rest. A state of calm relaxation that would let her forget everything that was happening around her.

No.

It wasn't working.

Trini's eyes screwed up, the image of the gun pointed directly towards her. Being able to see the eyes of the one holding the gun, staring into the dark pools of anger and fear. Everything moved slow enough that she was able to see everything happening all in slow motion, giving her the chance to study the planes of his face and see how he was torn between doing it and not wanting to…let someone down? She wasn't exactly sure.

All she knew was that as soon as the gun blast went off, she was swept up in the crowd, feeling Kimberly's hand slip away from hers, hearing Zack shout for the two of them, heard the stampeding feet as they raced around her. They pushed and shoved, fell over each other, crashed into lockers in their haste to get away from the danger that should never befall a school. And there Trini was, caught up in the danger when she was on her way to a meeting of how to help students in the school and keep things peaceful.

Now she sat in the library, trying not to panic, trying not to look down at her leg. Even glancing at it seemed to make more blood pump out of the wound. Even having tried to wrap it up with her white button down shirt didn't work. The blood stain continued to grow bigger as the minutes passed, weighing down the bright material with the darker shade. She wasn't sure if there was glass or a bullet in there but she knew she was in trouble. Whether or not she left the library or stayed where she was, she was in trouble.

A light sob escaped her lips as her thoughts moved to her friends. Were they okay? Had they been hit, too? Were they able to get out of the school? Were they trapped inside? She didn't have her communicator to talk to them, didn't have Zordon and Alpha around to teleport them out. Trini lifted her head, glancing around the library. There didn't seem to be anyone else hiding there, and where she was, in an alcove of books, was the most protection she could get. All the same she was a sitting duck if the shooter came to find her, pinning her like a trapped rat.

But there was a phone at the circulation desk, all the way on the other side of the library. If she could just make it there…Trini made her decision. She couldn't let anyone else get hurt. She had to do something. Trini slowly turned herself from her sitting position and stretched out onto her stomach.

"Ah!" Another bolt of lightning like pain. This time it caused her to tense all of her muscles, waiting for the pain to subside. Reaching out her hands, Trini started to slowly pull her way across the floor of the library, leaving a smear of blood behind her as she went.

She could only move a few inches every few seconds. Pull, wait. Pull, wait. Pull, wait. Waited to see if there was a sound that'd alert her to danger. Waited to see if the pain would become so intense she'd pass out. Waited to see if her life would end in seconds. A brief thought entered her mind as she went, what would the newspaper say about her? Would they mention how much volunteering she did to clean up the park? Would they mention how she worked as a tutor when asked? About all of her extracurriculars?

It was all so…fake. So stupid. So meaningless in the grand scheme of things. They cared so much about things that would pad their resumes and college applications, who was going out with whom, who would be prom king and queen. A part of her knew that since becoming a ranger, throwing aside lots of things that would make the high school experience like that of a movie. All to make sure the residents of Angel Grove were safe. But another part of her was still a teenager and cared about those things as well.

But now…

Trini paused. Her natural fight or flight instincts started to kick in. Something was coming. She could feel it, could sense it as she would if a putty snuck up behind her. The air had changed around her, becoming dark and sinister, thick with a danger that was coming her way. Trini slowly curled up into a ball and backed towards a shelf behind her. She didn't have too much protection now, just the stack of books in front and behind her. But she was a ranger, a fighter when the time came, she could defend herself if she needed to.

All she had to do was gain the upper hand. Reaching up, Trini slowly and carefully pulled books off of the shelf to make a hole to see through. She strained her neck, trying to see into the rest of the library; working to see who it was that had made that sound. As she listened and waited, she could hear a door slowly shift back into place. It was quiet enough that most wouldn't have noticed it, but it was the only sound made in an otherwise silent school.

Trini continued to look through the hole she made, taking a few more books down. Then she lost her grip on one of the books and it clattered to the ground. Her eyes squeezed shut and she stifled a sob that threatened to come out. She clasped her hand over her mouth. It was unmistakable now, footsteps heading her way. They were quiet and moved in a purposeful direction towards her, working to stay as quiet as possible.

Her breath caught in her throat, heart hammering tattooing against her ribcage. Then she became calm, eerily calm. She was ready for what was about to come her way. Ready for everything to end and she would be reunited with her past relatives and former pets.

Something moved out of the corner of her eye, darting around the side of the shelf with his arm above his head. Trini looked over at the figure and let out a sob of fear, unable to help herself, before she recognized Jason. He reacted similarly to her, crying out in surprise, finding someone there. But he realized it was Trini much quicker than she had recognized him.

"Trini, Tri." Jason knelt down next to her, grabbing her face in his hands. "Are you okay? What happened?" He reached down, starting to check her arms and legs.

"Ow!" Trini shied away from him. "Ow, stop. My leg!" Jason glanced down at the blouse tied around her legs. "I got hit…I don't know, some glass…maybe a bullet."

"What?!"

"I don't know." Now knowing she was out of danger, Trini started to cry. Still, she kept her voice low in case someone else came by. She gasped for air, nearly hyperventilating as she tried to speak. "I…I lost…they were right beside me." She swallowed hard. "Kim, Zack, I lost them. I don't know what happened."

Jason nodded as he listened to her explanation .She didn't look good. Her face was pale, the ground starting to become soaked in her blood. Of what little he knew about First Aid, having had taken multiple classes in it, he knew she wasn't doing well at all. By his judgment, she was starting to lose too much blood. Any longer and she was going to pass out. Longer than that and… he shook his head.

No. He couldn't imagine the thought.

They had been through so many battles together, putties and other huge monsters alike and came out the other end with bright smiles and congratulatory shakes at the Youth Center. To see someone who was so full of life and saw the best in other people become so scared and vulnerable with fear was jarring. Scary, even. He had never seen her so broken and wanted nothing but to put her back together.

Jason licked his lips and glanced down at the hockey stick he had found hanging out of someone's locker on the way to the library. Leftover from their haste to get away. As long as they had a weapon they'd be able to get away relatively safe. Staying here would mean they'd be sitting ducks if the shooter came by.

"Come on, Trini," He finally said. "We have to get you somewhere safe."

Trini shook her head. "No I can't," she whispered. "I tried. My leg I…" she took in a deep breath, swallowing hard to finally calm herself. "My leg hurts too much; I can barely stand on it."

"Okay." Jason thought quickly. _There's got to be a phone or something around here. We can let the police know where we are and get an ambulance._ He started to get up and Trini reached out her hand, grabbing onto Jason's wrist, pleading, "No, don't leave me, please."

"I'm not; I'm just going to block the door," He quickly explained. "Just in case the guy decides to come back here or something." He looked at Trini's face and saw her indecision. On one hand she thought it was a good idea, on the other…what if the shooter was there when he tried to block the door? What if he saw Jason and shot him, too? What if he snuck in from another door and picked him off while his back was turned?

There were too many possibilities.

Jason leaned down to her, grasping her face once more. He looked her in the eye. "Hey, hey, listen to me. I'm not leaving you okay. I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to block the door, and then I'll be back here. Okay?"

Trini nodded.

"Okay."

He started to move once more and felt Trini reach up her hands and grab onto his wrists. There was a moment of silence that moved between the two, almost as if there was something Trini was trying to telepathically tell him. His eyes searched the planes of her face; taking in her smooth skin and the gentle roundness of her face that usually gave way to a sweet smile that was almost always in sight. Even with her hair at a disarray and tear tracks cutting through the light foundation she wore, he thought she looked beautiful.

It had been a few weeks since he realized that he had started to like her, enjoying her company much more than on a friend and fellow saver of the city level. He had thought, going into school that day that he'd tell her how he felt about her. Maybe suggest they went on a date, if she wanted to. But now was not the time. Not when her life was in the balance and there were more important things going on. It was inappropriate.

Then Trini's grasp on his wrists tightened and he realized she was grabbing his attention to say something seriously.

"What?" He asked.

"The shooter," she said. "I saw him. I know who it is."

* * *

Tommy continued to creep quietly through the hallways, moving towards the student center. Every time he turned the corner he would press his back against the wall and listen quietly. Listening for footsteps, listening for heavy breathing, listening for anything that would let him know that danger was about to come towards him.

His senses had been heightened while being a ranger, but now there was a lot clouding his judgment. He had to find Kimberly and make sure she was okay, once he saw that he'd be fine. But then there was everything else, making sure the rest of their classmates and the other students and teachers in the school were okay. Making sure everyone could get out safely. And, most importantly, stopping whoever was going around shooting.

So far, things had been quiet for at least ten minutes. That was a little bit too long. His mind raced with possibilities; the shooter may have been hurt…or they were systematically waiting for enough people to go into the school before opening fire on them. Even from where he was standing, Tommy could see the emergency exit doors that led to the courtyard. They had chains wrapped around the handles with a padlock on the front.

 _Whoever this is means business,_ Tommy thought. Fear crept into his chest, making him breathe heavier. _If this door is closed, that means others are, too._ His next thought scared him even further. This guy wanted to hurt a lot of people and wouldn't stop until he did. Taking in a deep breath to calm his nerves, Tommy pushed himself off the wall and moved forward, stepping quietly over forgotten book bags, loose papers, and blood smears. His feet made quiet, tacky sounds as he went, blood having already managed to stick to his soles.

He made it halfway through the hallway when he heard it, slow footsteps coming his way from the adjoining hallway. Tommy brought up the baseball bat in his hand and tightened his grip around the handle. He took in another breath to calm himself and let it out just as slowly, just as quietly. He waited for the footsteps to come closer…closer…closer…

"Ah! Hey!"

"Skull?"

Tommy had pounced as soon as the person came into view, grabbing onto their arm and shoving them against the wall. Then he pressed the body of the bat against the person's throat, pressing hard to pin him there. It wasn't until he spoke that Tommy realized he had grabbed onto Skull and was now strangling him.

Taking a step back, Tommy removed the baseball bat and grabbed onto Skull's arm and he sucked in a deep breath to calm himself. "Skull? What are you doing here?"

"I was skipping class," Skull muttered, rubbing his neck. He coughed lightly then lifted his gaze to meet Tommy's. His voice was flat as he spoke in a whisper, trembling as he did so. "Poli-Sci reeks and Skull and I were going to go to the mall. I must've fallen asleep while waiting for him in the janitor's closet—"

"—in the janitor's closet?" Tommy repeated.

"Principal Caplan monitors the halls between each class to make sure no one skips. Bulk and I wait in the janitor's closets until he's done so we can get out of here. I don't know about you, but detention gets boring after the first few days, enough so that anything to get them is worth it."

Tommy gave him an impatient look.

Skull noticed and quickly said, "Then something loud woke me up and the next thing I know, it's like a ghost town in here."

An incredulous look came over Tommy's face. "Skull," he said quietly. "Someone's got a gun in here."

Skull's eyes widened. For a school bully he knew when things were dangerous sand this was one of those times. "Then we have to get out of here."

"No, I have to find Kim." Tommy nodded back down the hallway. "Go back to the front of the school, it's clear that way."

Skull glanced down at the bat in Tommy's hand once more. Then he lifted his gaze and shook his head. "No…no, I think I'll stick with you. I mean…you know martial arts and all of that. You could probably catch a bullet, right?" He laughed his high-pitched, nervous laugh before clapping his hand over his mouth. Tommy glared at him as the two waited for the sound of footsteps coming their way, the sound of a gun cocking, anything.

A few, long, tense seconds passed before Tommy allowed himself to relax. Nothing. So far so good. He motioned for Skull to follow him and the two headed towards the student center .Finally, Tommy reached the closed door of the room and grabbed the handle trying to turn it. Locked. He should've guessed, the entire school was on lockdown, no one would leave it open.

He could hear movement coming from inside before hushed voices.

"Don't open the door. Are you crazy?"

"But someone could need help."

"And someone could be waiting to blast our brains out, you moron!"

Tommy listened closely to the conversation, recognizing voices after a few seconds. Bulk was the one who was barking at the others for jeopardizing their safety. Skull let out a sigh of relief when he realized his best friend was still alive and unharmed.

"It could be someone who needs help. Maybe they're hurt."

That was Kim's voice. Tommy nearly collapsed against the door in relief when he heard her voice. Her sweet voice. Tommy reached out and tried to open the door again. This time he placed his mouth close to the crack of the door. "Kim? Kim, it's me."

"Tommy?" She could hear Kimberly's voice move closer to the door. "Tommy, is that you?"

"Yeah, Kim. Open the door."

There was a moment of silence before there was a light click of the lock being turned and the door opening. Kimberly pulled Tommy and Skull inside then wrapped her arms tightly around Tommy's waist. She pressed her face into his chest and held him tightly. Tommy dropped his baseball bat and wrapped his arms around her as well. He brought up a hand and gently stroked her hair.

She was okay.

She was okay.

"Tommy." Tommy looked over and released Kimberly to give Zack a hug as well. Zack hugged him with one arm then grimaced, when Tommy squeezed him. "Be carefully, man. I've only got one good arm left."

Tommy stepped back and looked at him. He could see the blood dripping down his arm. Then he looked over at Kimberly, noticing her legs were scratched up and bleeding. At his gasp, she backed away from him and turned her hands up, palms out. "Just glass," she said. "It's just some glass. I'm okay."

"Zack?" Tommy asked him.

Zack pressed his lips together. "I don't…I think I just got grazed." His eyes widened earnestly. "Have you heard anything? What about the others?"

"Jason's okay," Tommy said. "He went to go find Trini. I haven't seen Avalon or Billy yet." His eyes scanned the room. He looked over at Bulk and Skull, who had immediately grabbed each other in a strong hug when they saw each other was safe, and had now backed away from each other, brushing off their clothes as if nothing had happened. "But we need to get out of here."

"Are you crazy?" One of their classmates, Tommy recognized him as Kyle, a new freshman on their football team. His eyes were wide. "There's someone shooting out there!"

"I didn't run into anyone other than Skull," Tommy explained calmly. "We'll be okay." He held up the baseball bat for proof.

Chelsea, a member of the cheerleading team, snorted. "A bat is going to save us from a bullet?"

Tommy frowned, tightening his grip on the bat. Being a leader was so much easier when he and his friends were in battle. They knew what was to come when they were fighting and knew how to work with each other. But these were regular teenagers who were scared out of their mind and rightfully so. They hadn't done anything more dangerous than experimenting with drugs or even driving. This had to scare them more than anything else, whereas he and his friends had been more terrified of a fifty-foot monster that was actively trying to kill them.

"Guys, trust me," Tommy pleaded. "I'm not going to let anything happen to anyone. But we need to get out of here _now._ Whoever is doing this, they've locked emergency exit doors so the only way out that I've found is by the front doors. "Come on." He waved his hand while motioning towards the door.

"Stop."

Tommy didn't recognize the voice. Not because he didn't know the guy, but because it wasn't a regular teen sounding voice. It was filled with malice. Turning towards him, Tommy watched as the Hispanic teen stood in the corner of the room, pointing a pistol at them. His face was steady but his arm shook slightly, almost as if it was betraying his thoughts. Tommy looked into his eyes and saw they were empty, completely void of any emotion.

Kimberly leaned over and grasped Tommy's arm, scratching him in the process. He didn't notice; could only stare at the gun that was pointed their way.

"Nobody's going anywhere," the boy said. "Get away from the door." He continued to wave the gun over everyone. His face screwed up in a scowl when he realized no one was listening to him. " _GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR!"_

The shout made Chelsea yelp in fear before ducking away from the door. Her yelp and movement brought everyone to life and they did as they were told, following the motions of the gun. Tommy slid along the wall with his friends, exchanging a glance with Zack as he did so. They had to be thinking the same thing.

How long?

How long would it take for them to bum rush him and for him to fire the gun at them?

They were close enough to get to him in a few movements, but equally close enough for the shooter to kill them if he wished. Not to mention Tommy couldn't bear the thought of getting Kimberly in even more danger like that. Or anyone else. Putting them in danger would be reckless and stupid. He had to think of something else to do.

The shooter turned and pointed the gun directly towards Tommy's heart. He took a menacing step forward, making Kimberly hold him tighter and Zack move to step in front of the White Ranger. "Give it to me." Tommy didn't hesitate.

He lowered himself and dropped the baseball bat to the ground, rolling it towards the shooter. The shooter picked it up and tossed it aside. The sound of it clattering to the ground was like a gun shot in the otherwise quiet room, making everyone wince.

Tommy squeezed his eyes shut.

Now he was as powerless as everyone else.

* * *

 **A/N:** Okay, I planned on having this updated on Thursday but work stuff got in the way and I was exhausted. But I hope you guys liked it. Now you know what happened to Trini and now you know that _she_ knows who it is that's doing everything.

 _New Story Alert:_ I've gotten some ideas for new stories like this one that focuses on each of the rangers that will all join this story in a series. The next one is about Kimberly battling an eating disorder and will be up shortly after this one is finished.

 _Story Shout out:_ If you want to read a really great Tommy/Kim story, check out _Protectors of the Right_ by ToxicWednesday. It does a _great_ job of them finding their relationship through Dino Thunder. Chapter 10 has been posted recently, of which I still have to read and review, but check it out!

 **~Av**


	5. Chapter 5

**05**

* * *

Billy winced, as pain shot across his abdomen like lightning. Burned like he had been poked with a molten red fireplace poker. He was surprised he didn't pass out. _Must be because of our powers._

"Sorry, Smurf," Avalon quickly apologized. She moved her hands to his back, doing her best to keep him steady while her hands roamed. "I need to check if there's an exit wound."

Billy nodded, closing his eyes. He sucked shallow, harsh breaths through his nose and mouth. Anything to make sure he could keep himself from passing out. On one hand, he knew if he didn't have the ranger powers on his side it would hurt more. On the other, his ranger powers might've been a bad thing in terms of his recovery. He was already thinking ahead, of when he would have to go to the hospital and what they would say for his miraculous recovery. Getting hit, as he thought about it now, didn't register with him. If he were like everyone else he would've been screaming with pain, pleading to not die, wondering if he _was_ going to die.

It helped that Avalon knew what she was doing. She had sprung into action, flinching at the early gunshots, fear immediately moving through her eyes before anyone else could react. A primal instnact she had grown used to over the years. Then the second she realized that he had been shot she asked for the First-Aid kit from Ms. Appleby and made quick work to patch up the bullet hole. Not after sticking her finger into the wound, to see how deep it went, making Billy jerk and hiss out a curse.

"Never thought I'd see the day where you'd curse, Billy," She said.

"I try to leave such coarse language for circumstances where they're most needed," he said.

"Good to see you still have your sense of humor, too."

Billy smiled at that. Then he closed his eyes, waiting as Avalon pulled him upright to check his back. She moved her hands for a few seconds. "No exit wound," she reported. "That can be good and bad, we won't know until someone gets here to check on you, yeah?" She turned to Ms. Appleby. "Did you get the police on the phone? And ambulance?"

Ms. Appleby nodded, the classroom phone pressed to her ear. "They say they're on their way, there are multiple calls coming about the school." Then she heard the sound of sirens in the distance, grabbing everyone's attention.

As Avalon carefully laid Billy back on the floor she said, "I need you to stay awake, okay? If you go to sleep…" she took in a deep breath, trying to steady herself. "I'm not going to lie to you, Smurf, it'll get aggro if you go to sleep."

"I'll be fine." Billy swallowed hard, Adam's apple bobbing. "I've…I've studied enough to know…"

"I'm sure you have." Avalon stood up, to take surveillance of the room. The door was riddled with bullet holes, some towards the bottom of the door, others towards the top. She could see the one that struck Billy, a blood splatter sitting around it; the others didn't look to have hit anything. Then she whipped around to the other side of the room to take stock of their classmates.

They were all huddled together, some were crying. She expected that, no one ever expected to be in the middle of a gunfight. She shook her head. _No, not a gunfight,_ Avalon reminded herself, bringing her hand down to rub against the intricate 'V' tattooed on the inside of her wrist. _Gun fights are purposeful to kill; these were random, sporadic shots._ She saw Billy's blood on her palms and started to rub them off on her shirt, then stopped, feeling a stinging pain by her side.

Gasping, Avalon turned and lifted the bottom of her shirt. Blood seeped out from a wound in her side. She hadn't been shot and there wasn't a bullet graze, she knew what those felt like so what…? Twisting her head, Avalon studied the spot and brought her finger to it, wincing as her fingertips were immediately cut by something sticking out of her. Shrapnel. The wooden door had burst with the gunshot and struck her in the stomach, probably the last shot on her way up.

Letting out a deep breath, Avalon lowered her shirt and turned her attention back to her classmates. It wasn't the first time she had been injured from a gunshot and probably wouldn't be the last. But that wasn't what was important; Angel Grove's façade had been shattered in a million pieces. They had grown to be cautious of the monsters and warnings that came through to avoid different parts of the city nearly every day, but nothing that would make them think their school would be a target.

Lying quietly on the floor, Billy tried to focus on anything but his gunshot despite how hard he pressed his fingers against the bandage on it. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. It was then that a sound of plastic rustling together caught his attention and he lifted his head up from the sweatshirt that had been bundled under his head. "What are you doing?" He demanded.

His voice made his classmates jump, as they had all been quiet under Ms. Appleby's instructions. As was the protocol for a lockdown. The classmate, his eyes bulging with fear, turned away from the window as he wrestled with the blinds. "What does it look like? I'm getting out of here?"

It took a second for Billy to recognize him as Richie, whom Trini used to date. She hadn't seen him in a long while as he and Trini hadn't had a very amicable breakup. Now Billy could see the absolute terror running through his eyes as they darted around the room, as if waiting for the gunman to come back for him.

"Don't," Billy said. He struggled in for his next breath. The edges of his vision were already starting to darken. He fought off the darkness as best he could. "You can't leave."

"What do you want us to do?" A girl, Violet, he recognized her as. In some of his classes, mostly the advanced science and math ones. Her hair was around her face in a halo, tear tracks down her cheeks. "Just sit here and wait to die?"

"No one's going to die," Ms. Appleby said as calmly as she could. She hung up the classroom phone. "The police and the ambulance are on their way."

"You don't know if they're going to come back," Violet pointed out.

"There haven't been any more gunshots for a long while now, the person probably got spooked and realized the horrible thing they did." She brought her hand up to cover her mouth, doing her best to keep together. But her composure crumpled and she dropped down into her seat. "Oh..I don't know what to do…if only the Power Rangers were here to help us."

Billy sucked in another sharp breath at the mention of his alter ego. He looked over at Avalon, who exchanged a glance with him, the expression on her face betraying she felt the same way. Their communicators and morphers were too far away to be of any use now. There was nothing worse than being a hero without the ability to help them. _There has to be something we can do._

"We have to get out of here," Richie repeated.

"We're supposed to be quiet," another girl in the room said. She huddled along with her friends. "We'll bring attention to yourselves if we…if we make too much noise."

"We'll just climb out the window," Richie explained. "The courtyard is through here—"

"And get caught if they're out there?" Avalon asked.

"They'll kill you!" A girl cried.

"They're not trying to kill anyone," a boy said.

"You don't know that," Avalon reminded him. "He fired into the bloody classroom without any thought to where he was aiming as far as we fucking know he was trying to get the most amount of damage in as he could. But these weren't the first shots fired, they were the second." She glanced at the door once more, practically daring it to open. "Judging by the hole, they're using an automatic pistol. I think an 8mm. They can cause a lot damage fired from close range, yeah?"

"Oh yeah? How do you know?" Richie demanded.

Avalon thought how to answer. Was this the best time to explain it? It was then she noticed the almost imperceptible shake of Billy's head, warning her not to. Wouldn't that be a can of worms to open and explain all at once. _May as well go ahead and explain how you're a Power Ranger, too_. She added. Then a sickening thought hit her. Not just that Zordon and Alpha wouldn't know what was going on with the rangers, but that Bailey probably didn't know either.

Or worse if she did, he's be desperate to find her, probably putting herself in even more danger.

And that was the last thing she needed.

Avalon took in a deep breath and let it out, wishing she was able to get to her locker. Not just so she had a chance to get to the communicators, but so that she could get a weapon of her own.

Billy, on the other hand, stayed as logical as ever. There were a few things he knew for sure; he was hurt, it was too dangerous to go outside, and the police were on their way. If there hadn't been any other gun shots since then it was likely there was only one shooter and he had already been apprehended if, not injured himself.

The only thing that could make things worse were if he completely lost consciousness or if Rita and Zedd decided to send down a monster.

* * *

Tommy opened his eyes again when he heard a rustling sound and looked over to find the Hispanic boy running through the drawers of the desk at the front of the room. He was muttering to himself as he went, violently pulling the drawers open and slamming them shut when he didn't find what he was looking for. Kimberly jumped with each slam and Tommy continued to hold her tightly against him, ignoring the pain the glass was inflicting on both of them.

Zack took a deep breath as he watched the boy. "Why are you doing this, man?"

"Why does it matter to you?" The boy replied.

"Because I'm here, right here with you! We're in this predicament together, I feel I deserve and answer!" Zack tried his best not to lose his composure. But his blood loss was starting to make him dizzy, and the stress of the entire situation was really getting to him. He thought of his parents and how they would probably scream towards school, breaking the speed limit to see if he was okay.

How bad would it be when they found out he was one of the ones hurt?

The boy chuckled. Finally, he pulled open an drawer and found some tape. He threw it to Tommy, who caught it against his chest. "Put a line down the center of the room. And don't do anything stupid or else you'll find a bullet in your brain."

"Don't do this, please!" Kimberly cried. "You're not…" she took a deep breath, trying to stop crying. "You don't want to do this! You're not that guy!"

"And how would you know that?" The boy hurried over to Kimberly and pointed the gun right between her eyes. She shrieked but didn't turn away, openly crying now. "You…you don't know a damn thing about me." Then the boy whipped around toward Tommy, who started to rush him once he realized Kimberly was in trouble. Tommy immediately stopped in his tracks. "Don't do anything stupid or else you'll be to blame for her blood getting everywhere."

Zack took a step towards them. "Please," he said. "Don't hurt her. She's not going to do anything to you."

The boy glanced at Zack, then he nodded towards Tommy. Tommy swallowed hard, finishing the line in the middle of the room. He wasn't going to do anything stupid. Not when Kim still needed his help. Not when everyone else was still in danger. There was enough time to be the hero, right now they needed to lie low.

"What are you doing? What is that?"

Tommy and Zack looked around as Kimberly dropped her hands and took a step back, dropping her phone to the ground. From where Zack stood he could see the illuminated screen that was on a call to 911. Enraged, the boy lifted it to his ear and barked, "If any police come near this school, I'll start shooting kids!" Then he threw the phone to the ground and stomped on it until it broke. Then he reached out and grabbed onto Kimberly's arm, hoisting her forward and shoved her to the ground.

"No! No. Please!" Kimberly cried, bringing her blood stained hands up to cover her face.

"Don't hurt her!" Skull cried, reaching out desperately.

"He's not going to do anything," Bulk declared. He puffed up his chest and looked the boy in the eye. "He's not! He doesn't want to do anything or else he would've done it by now." The boy continued to look at Bulk, while the gun was still pointed at Kimberly. "You think you're so tough—"

"—Sit down," the boy said.

"We're getting out of here!" Bulk started to push his way towards the door.

"Bulk!" Skull shouted.

The boy whipped the gun around and fired at the same time that Zack jumped towards him. He grabbed the boy by the arm and angled his gun back; altering the trajectory once the gun was fired. Instead of it hitting Bulk, which would've been a direct hit, the bullet struck the wall right above his head. Zack and the boy twisted back and forth as they tried to overpower each other and Zack had been winning. But it was soon apparent that even with his martial arts skills, of which he busted out some hip-hop kido to knock the kid down a little, he was still weakened form his wound.

Seeming to notice it himself, the boy then reached his free hand into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out a switchblade. He flicked it open and drew it along Zack's arm, immediately making him freeze, watching as the fresh blood came to the surface.

"Back up," the boy whispered.

Zack dropped his arms and moved to do what he was told. He ran his hand down his arm, trying to see the depth of the cut and sighed in relief. Just a surface scratch. He hadn't been stuck too badly. Still, it was scary, terrifying even. He turned away from the others, lowering his head in shame as it became evident how scared he was. Zack had wet his pants.

"I want everyone's cell phones!" He cried.

The rangers and the others quickly handed their phones over. Tommy backed up to the far wall, leaving Kimberly sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. He hadn't said anything to her about moving and she wasn't going to risk it.

The boy took the phones and mashed them, one by one. Until nothing was left but a couple of pieces of the screen. He was a pretty good shot with a baseball bat. Zack looked at him out of the corner of his eye. That's where he knew him from. "You're on the baseball team aren't you?"

The boy sneered. "What of it?"

"You're really good."

"No, I wasn't."

"Yes, you were. I've seen you play a few times."

"Then what's my name?"

Zack was silent.

"Thought so." The boy sniffed and rubbed his arm with his sleeve, leaving a shiny streak. "If you want to know my name, if you want to know me so badly, you should've asked your friend Trini."

"Trini?" Tommy repeated.

"She's the only one who tried to get to know me. Who tried to talk me out of…being irrational." The boy chuckled, but there was no humor in it. Listening closely, it sounded like it was a hysterical laugh. A tear-filled once. Like he was finally realizing what he was doing. His eyes turned downcast as he turned on his heel and started to pace through the room. "You should be more like your friend, you know. You're too good to care about anyone but yourselves, Miss. Cheerleader, the loveable new kid, and the most popular guy in school. Like you really care about anyone else."

"You—" Kimberly started.

"When was the last time that you actually hung out with the rest of the cheerleaders?" The boy demanded. Kimberly closed her mouth. "When have you had an actual, honest to God conversation with anyone other than those in your little click? The truth is, you don't' care about what is going on in anyone else's lives unless it looks good on your resume. Yeah, I know about you three. All you do is act like you care about the world, working on every single volunteer project you can, but what about those in this school that could use it? God knows this city of 'brotherly love' isn't so brotherly after all. I'm the only one who can see that."

"Okay, so you're mad at us," Tommy said. His voice was low, soothing. "Let everyone else go and keep us. We don't do anything funny."

"He's right man, if you've got a problem with us, don't do anything to them," Zack said.

The boy seemed to be thinking about it. He pressed his lips together, still thinking as he continued to pace. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. His back was turned along enough or Bulk to slowly move closer and closer to him. Close enough so that when he had the opportunity, he charged towards the boy. The boy turned around at just the right time to find Bulk charging towards him.

Kimberly, Zack, and Tommy all saw it in his face. Saw the distinct change that turned him from a teenage boy that could be reasoned with to absolutely nothing. Less than nothing, of pure evil. The others screamed all at the same time, expecting to hear the gun go off. But it wasn't what happened. Instead, Bulk had timed his run correctly and charged the boy, slamming him hard into the wall behind him. He cried out as he fell to the ground, hand still tightly gripped to the gun. Bulk raced to the door and flung it open, urging Skull, Chelsea, Kyle, and their two other classmates to hurry to the door.

They got outside with ease. Bulk hesitated for a moment before he left the room, glancing inside. Tommy nodded at him, Bulk nodded back and hurried out. The boy limped after him and closed and locked the door.

In a way, Bulk was a hero.

He had given the boy exactly what he wanted and saved many lives at the same time.

And yet the other three were still stuck in the room with him, trying to talk him down.

They were still powerless, but at least they had a better idea of what the boy wanted.

* * *

 **A/N:** Yes! I finally got two stories updated when they were supposed to be updated! It's been a while hasn't it? What did you think of this one? The stakes are raised now, huh? More to be revealed in the next chapter.

 **~Av**


	6. Chapter 6

**06**

* * *

"His name is Ian Hernandez," Trini whispered. It was all she could do now.

She had slowly begun to feel her body turn cold. Almost like it wasn't her own. It took a lot of effort to lift her arms, to even lift her head to see Jason clearly from its position of resting on his shoulder. She was so tired, much more than she had ever been before. Not even monster fights that left her battered and bruised would do that to her. She could come back from a monster fight feeling stronger despite limping or having bruises, knowing she was doing her best to make sure there was peace and harmony in Angel Grove numbed the pain for her.

This, this was different. It wasn't a monster. It was a human. And in many ways, that was more horrifying than anything else they could come up against.

"He's…he's just a freshman," Trini continued.

Jason shifted his head to look down at her. His cheek rested against her head, the apple of his cheek and the skin between his nose and mouth. If he really wanted to, he could place a gentle kiss on her hair to calm her down, to make sure she knew he wasn't going to let anything happen to her. Glancing even further down he noticed that her wound wasn't bleeding as much as it had been before, but she had clearly lost too much blood. He could tell.

They needed to get out of there, soon.

"He keeps to himself. It's already hard to get through the school year being a freshman." She smiled a little to herself. "Do you remember when we were freshman?"

Jason chuckled to himself. "Knobby kneed and scared of everything," he said. "Kimberly was so…obsessed with getting on the cheerleading team and we knew she'd get it. Zack quickly worked to become the most popular guy in school. Without even trying. I wanted to join the football team, Bulk hated me on sight. Billy was as excited as ever to be in school, even though I knew he was scared. But you…you weren't scared at all."

"I was always scared," Trini murmured. "Going from middle school to high school…it's like a whole new world." Her eyebrows came together, her breath making her voice sound dreamy. Almost like a little girl who was trying to keep from being caught staying up past bedtime, whispering with her friends. "New teachers, new students, new clubs, new teams. I didn't know where I would fit. I had you guys with me, but there was so much that could happen. What if we stopped being friends? What if something tore us apart? And what about dating?" She chuckled. "Honestly, I was afraid of my own shadow. But the rest of you looked so calm; I thought I was being silly."

Jason took in a deep breath. For a few long moments he was silent. Then he admitted, "I was scared, too. I had my own personal bully who thought everything I was doing was to make him look bad."

"Didn't you?"

The corner of Jason's mouth turned up. "Maybe a little."

"I thought so."

"He tormented me at every turn but I learned from my martial arts never to let others' emotions get to you. So I stayed as calm as possible, but I was afraid. I was scared to go out for the football team at first because I didn't think I was good enough and the other guys were huge. I was afraid to step out of my comfort zone, though I envied Zack for doing it without a second thought. I always wanted to be someone who everyone wanted to go to for a good time. But I couldn't do it. Sure, eventually I became comfortable in my own skin but it took a while as the days went by until I fully accepted myself. It sounds like Ian can't do that."

"Ian…he's had a very hard life," Trini said. She clasped her hands together, squeezing her fingers. Anything to prove she was still there. She was getting so cold. "His family has been in and out of jail his entire life. He's trying to avoid everything around him as much as he can but it's wearing him down. He doesn't have anyone but the Mentor Committee to confide in. I've seen how angry he is—"

"He did this because he's angry?" Jason asked. "At what?"

"Life, everything." Trini closed her eyes. She was silent for so long that Jason was afraid she had fallen asleep. She couldn't fall asleep yet. Trini, while gathering her strength, felt Jason's muscles tense, all coiling together as if he was about to leap up, grab her, and kick his way through the doors not caring what got in his way. He was such a good friend. "He was mad at us."

"At us? Why?"

"Because we represent everything he wanted. Because we had friends, we're 'popular'," she used dull air quotes around the words, barely able to lift her arms higher than her chest. "Because we're people other people want to be friends with. But he pointed out that we would never look at a guy like him if it wasn't for The Mentor Committee."

"That's not true," Jason protested.

"Isn't it?" Trini sniffed. She felt tears come to her eyes again. No, she couldn't cry now. She was tired of crying. She had to get this out. They were things she wondered s well. "As soon as we became Power Rangers we kept ourselves separate from everyone else. I wouldn't let anyone close to me as I used to because I'm afraid of what will happen to them. Rita and Zedd know who we are; we've had people targeted before. I can't do it anymore. So I keep myself closed off. All of us have done it, I've noticed. We've changed. And we've become exclusive. It's something that we're learned to do to survive and to protect but at what cost? Of acting like we're better than everyone else? We have no friends other than each other no matter how much we don't want to admit it. Or even _thought_ of admitting it."

"He did this to get back at us?" Jason asked.

Trini shook her head. "I saw him when he started shooting. He didn't look evil. He just looked scared. Like he didn't want to do it. I _know_ he didn't want to do it."

"You don't know that for sure—"

"Yes, I do! I've worked with him, _talked_ to him for weeks now. Months. I know him better than he knows himself. He's my _friend_ Jason. Don't you think that if this was you, I'd do the same thing? Try to make others understand?"

"I wouldn't have to wonder about it, I know you would."

"So trust me on this."

"I do. I always do. I don't trust anyone else as much in this matter."

"He's being groomed to be in a gang, Jase. His brother, his uncles, his cousins…they're all in it. And he's getting pressures from all sides of the gang territory that his house borders. His mother is trying his hardest to keep him safe. She wants to send him away but they don't have the money for it right now so he keeps his head low and just goes to school. He has no friends all because he's so afraid to get close to anyone in case they become sucked in or a target."

"Like Av," Jason agreed. Trini nodded, the two remembering how the orange ranger had been so closed off and cold when they first met. All because she had been in the street gang the Vipers for about three years. "Is Ian—"

"He's being scouted by MS-13," Trini said.

Jason nodded again. His father, Cain, was a lawyer and warned Jason about being safe after dark. Making sure he walked or drove his girl friends home if they were headed out by themselves, staying away from certain parts of Angel Grove. He wasn't naive enough to think that nothing could happen to him, there was always that chance. Monsters aside anything could happen in Angel Grove, no matter how bright and cheerful the place seemed to be. The community of Angel Grove was a brotherhood where complete strangers would rally to help each other when the time came.

Trini started to shift; wanting to ease up on the leg she was leaning heavily on, and then stopped. Pain surged up her leg. She could feel that, everything else was numb but she felt that lightning bolt of pain, immediately lighting up every nerve that made her tense. She sucked in a harsh breath between her teeth.

Jason reached out and touched the wound on her leg and she quickly pulled always from him. Leaning over as far as she could without falling. "Stop," she whimpered.

"You're bleeding pretty badly, Tree, I have to put pressure on it," Jason apologized.

"I'm tired," Trini said. She leaned back and draped her head on his shoulder once more. He could feel her trembling. "Are you tired?"

Jason licked his lips. "Yeah, but you have to stay awake." He reached up and wrapped his arm around her, rubbing her arm, warming her skin. Anything to keep her awake and alert. Alive. "Talk to me, okay? Tell me a story. Tell me about a good day."

"The wildfires…when we were in sixth grade." Trini started to smile a little. A low chuckle escaped her lips. She squeezed her fingers tighter, moving the pain to her hands. Anything to keep it from her leg. Anything to keep her from focusing on everything else. "And my family went to your house. Do you remember that?" Jason smiled. "Our parents were worried about the fires getting to our houses. But we were excited by everything that was going on. How many times do we get a day off of school because of a fire? We would look out the windows to see if we could catch a glimpse of anything. But when we didn't see anything we stayed up all night, talking.

"I remember that day because it was the last day that everything was okay. That we were just kids. That we were safe. Because after that day was when we found out what middle school was like. Bullying, wanting to fit in, bad teachers, pressure from everywhere. I remember we stayed up all night talking and I got cold, and you kept giving me your blankets to make sure that I was warm. I was so cold. Kind of like now." Trini reached up and smoothed her hair from her face, smearing blood across her forehead. She had to look ridiculous; hair disarray with blood smearing like Simba from The Lion King.

Then the humor faded. _How can you care about that at a time like this?_ She thought. Maybe because, soon, she wouldn't be able to do it again. "And now everyone is going to come; the reporters and the police and they'll try to make sense of everything. But they won't be able to and even if we do make it out of here we're always going to carry it with us. We'll never be able to forget anything that's happened. Things will never be the same." Trini swallowed hard, finally steeling herself up to ask the question that had been on her mind since the shooting first started. "It's not glass in my leg is it?"

Jason's heart sank. He had hoped she would never ask him. Hoped she would never figure it out. But Trini was smart, almost as smart as Billy in some ways, and smarter than others. She was also very spiritual and knew her body better than anyone else from the time she spent meditating. "No," he admitted. "It's a bullet." Trini squeezed her eyes in despair. "So I have to get out of here, okay? Nothing's going to happen to you. I promise."

"You're always there for me," Trini said.

"Someone has to be. You can be as headstrong and stubborn as anyone else. You just paint a pleasant smile on top of it so no one notices until you get your way. And that drives me crazy sometimes. A lot of the time. But I also love that about you."

Trini lifted her head and pressed her lips against Jason's in a sweet kiss. He looked at her in confusion. "Just in case you can't keep your promise," she explained.

Jason grasped her arm. "I'm going to keep my promise. Let's get you out of here." He knelt down and grabbed onto Trini's arm, moving her to his side. Then he slipped his arms under her body and lifted her up into his arms. Trini's head lolled onto his shoulder, her eyes closed. "Damn it," he whispered. "Don't worry, Trini, I got you."

He walked towards the doors of the library.

* * *

"Let's go!"

Kimberly looked up as Ian spoke. She jumped. It was the first time in a long time he had spoken since. Since releasing, Bulk, Skull, Chelsea, Kyle, and the others from the room he had captured, Ian had sat in the room at the front of the room in the office chair, sitting in it sideways. There as an intense look on his face and since then, Kimberly, Tommy and Zack sat huddled on the far side of the room.

Tommy held his hand on Kimberly's thigh, gently rubbing it back and forth, reminding her that he was there for her. Zack sat on Kimberly's other side, slouched in his seat, arms crossed, exuding as much confidence as he could muster. Kimberly was grateful for both of them, knowing her teammates and friends were there for her. But she wasn't a slouch herself.

The moment she had that gun pointed in her face, something in her mind clicked. She was going to get through to this guy if it was the last thing she did. She wasn't going to let him harm anyone else. So she watched him. Watched the intense expression on his face as he stared at the door, almost daring it to open. Watched as he was so lost in his thoughts as he twirled his gun in his hand. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a few bullets, loading them into the gun.

That's when he spoke up.

"Where are we going?" Kimberly asked.

Ian glanced at her. "We're going to find your friends."

"Oh." Kimberly sat up straight. She took in a deep breath. "What do you want them for? You have us. You don't need to hurt anyone else."

"I'm not going to hurt them," Ian said. His voice sounded subdued, almost as if he were in a trance. As it was, when he turned his gaze to Kimberly, she didn't see anything in his dark eyes. They were dull, lifeless. She could see that he had already given up. "Not unless they make me." He lifted the gun and pointed it at them once more.

Fear continued to flash through Kimberly when he did that, unsure of when he was finally going to pull the trigger. All the same that fear made her stronger, made her more inclined to want to get to the bottom of him and what his motive was. "What—"

" _Just get up!"_

"Okay, we're going," Zack said. He got up from his seat, stumbling as he did so. He had to grab onto a nearby table to keep himself up.

"You okay, man?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

But Tommy ducked his head under Zack's arm to hold him up. The wound on his arm wasn't bleeding as much as it had been before, but that didn't mean he was out of the woods yet. His face had already gone pale and he was working hard to keep his breathing under control. He needed medical attention and he needed it soon.

"Let's go," Ian repeated. He waved them towards the door of the room.

"Wait." Kimberly turned to Ian, her brown eyes searching his. "What about the others?"

"There are no others," came his curt reply.

Kimberly nodded and walked towards the door, waiting for her friends to walk out before she did. Part of her was waiting for a bullet to jam into her spine, but she didn't think he'd do it. He just admitted there was n one else out there working for him. That was good to know. They didn't have to worry about someone coming around the corner and taking them down. And now that they knew he was working alone, they had a better chance of talking him down.

"Come on."

Ian jabbed her in the back with the barrel of the gun as they left the room, walking down the hallway. "What class are they in right now? Where are they?"

"Political science," Kimberly said. "They're in political science."

"With Ms. Appleby?"

"Yes."

"Good."

The three walked to the classroom and stood aside when Ian glanced at the door. He reached out as if he was going to try the doorknob then stopped, changing his mind. Ian took a step back and lifted his foot. He kicked hard against the door and it popped open, bursting against the wall. Inside, Kimberly could hear the sounds of students screaming. Ian walked in, gun drawn.

"You four, get out. You two, come with me."

Kimberly held her breath. She watched, looking at the faces of those walking by her as they left the classroom. Ms. Appleby, Richie, and Violet…enough people she had known over the years. One of her favorite teachers at the school, Trini's ex-boyfriend, the girl that had a _huge_ crush on Billy…they all had their own lives and their lives would continue on. But she couldn't quiet say that for the rest of them. Then her eyes landed on Billy and Avalon as they left the classroom with Ian standing beside them, his gun continuing to waver over each of them, warning them not to move.

A low gasp escaped Kimberly lips when she spotted the blood on Billy's clothes, the small, almost imperceptible hole that sat on his shirt. Watched how he leaned heavily against Avalon's side, making her notice the blood splattered on her clothes as well.

"We're okay," Avalon said under her breath. She looked over her friends. "Jason and Trini?"

"We haven't seen them," Tommy said.

"Maybe they got away," Billy said, voice low.

Zack shook his head but didn't say anything else. Tommy, instead, said, "Jason went to look for her in the library. There's only one way back from there. If we haven't seen them yet…" he trailed off, looking over Ian who scanned the rest of the classroom before leaving it.

"Come on."

Ian's voice was low, commanding. No one dared to defy him. They followed him as he aimlessly walking through the hallways. Kimberly thought about running but knew it wasn't going to happen. There were too many injuries between them to get away fast enough, to get away from getting hit by a stray bullet. The bell rang, making them all jump.

"It's only been an hour," Billy said.

"It's funny how we always complained about how slow school was, yeah?" Avalon remarked.

Kimberly sighed and turned back to Tommy, reaching out and taking his free hand. "You shouldn't have come after me," she said to him. "I love you for doing it but I wish you were safe."

"I don't want to be safe without you," Tommy replied. He leaned down and kissed the side of her head then kissed her lips.

"Geez, get a room," Zack muttered, though there was still a teasing lift to his voice. Somehow, despite the situation he managed to keep his spirits up, even a little bit. "Even in the face of death you two are gross."

"You're just jealous," Tommy replied. "That Angela doesn't pay attention to you."

"Yeah." Zack's smile faded. "You're right."

There was a sudden clanging sound, the sound of a door closing. Everyone froze. Ian paused. He tilted his head to the side, as if determining where the sound was coming from. Then he took long strides towards the sound.

"No!" Billy cried.

"Stop," Avalon said firmly.

But Ian ignored her. He started to stake long strides down the hall, with the rangers following him as fast as they could, struggling to keep up pace. They moved closer and closer to the sound before Ian turned the corner and stopped, making the others stop, too.

"Trini," Kimberly breathed.

Jason stood in front of Ian, carefully cradling Trini in his arms. "Where do you think you're going?" Ian demanded.

"She's bleeding," Jason said. "If I don't get her out of here, she's going to die."

"I didn't mean to hurt her," Ian said, looking at Trini.

"I know you didn't," Jason said. "Just like you don't mean to hurt the rest of us." He swallowed hard. "We don't want anything to happen to you as much as you don't want to hurt us."

Ian's face twisted up into a mask of fury. "Like hell you don't! You don't understand a thing about me."

"Please," Kimberly pleaded. "Don't hurt them. We know you're mad—"

"I'm not mad," Ian said. He slowly lowered the gun away from Jason. Jason continued to take small, slow steps towards Ian. But instead of speaking to him, Jason walked by until he was by his friends. Kimberly reached out and grabbed onto Trini's hand, mind racing, begging for there to be a pulse. She let out a sigh of relief when he found one.

"Is she-?" she started.

"She's been shot in the leg," Jason explained. He turned his head, nodding towards Ian. "He shot her." Finally, he spoke to Ian directly. "You shot her."

Finally, Ian's mask fell when he realized what he had done. That he had hurt the person who had taken the time to listen to him. For the first time since everything happened, Kimberly saw how scared and young he was. "I didn't mean to," he whispered. "Not her. I didn't mean—"

"What _did_ you mean to do?" Avalon demanded, eyes narrowed. "You came and brought that fucking gun to school and you shot it. What the hell did you mean to do?"

"I wanted everyone to leave me alone," Ian whispered. He continued to hold the gun up, but his arm quivered, like it weighed a ton and took a lot out of him to even grasp. "I was so tired of being pulled back and forth and back and forth. They want me to do so many bad things, like my dad and my brothers…my mom's been trying to keep me safe."

"You don't want to join MS-13," Jason said.

Kimberly's eyes widened. She looked at her friends. They all knew what that meant. Angel Grove wasn't the safest place on Earth, they knew that. They knew that as soon as the monsters started to attack on nearly a daily basis. But then their parents told them everything they needed to know about the gangs that had been slowly coming over from Los Angeles. It was something that was starting to become as big of a problem as Rita's and Zedd's monsters.

"You don't want to join a gang, mate," Avalon said. "Trust me. Don't be like me. It's the worst decision you can make. Getting out is harder than getting in. If they ever let you leave."

"That's what Trini was talking to you about," Kimberly realized. "That's why you were getting help from her so much. She was trying to show you how to stay away from that danger. But you couldn't stay away."

"It's hard," Ian murmured. "They're constantly after me. I had no choice."

"What was your initiation?" Avalon asked.

Ian was silent.

Kimberly waited patiently for his answer. She could see now how much turmoil he was going through. How hard he was working to stay out of harm's way. It was starting to wear him down, so much more than anyone else could see. _He must've felt so alone,_ Kimberly thought. He needed someone to talk to and that's what Trini was for.

"We're here for you," Kimberly said. She found herself slowly starting to walk towards him, hand outstretched. She wasn't going to take his gun; she just wanted to let him know she was okay for him to talk to. "We're here to listen."

"Where were you before?" Ian asked bitterly.

"I know. I get it now," Kimberly said.

"Kim," Billy warned.

She waved her other hand, letting him know she was okay. He needed to hear what she had to say. "You wanted someone to talk to, so you joined the Mentor Program. Trini listened to you and she tried to help. But you hurt her, she's really hurt. We're listening to you now. Talk to us." Kimberly licked her lips. "I understand why you're angry at us. Because we represented everything you didn't have. Friends; confidants. And you were right; we probably wouldn't have talked to you. I haven't talked to the cheerleaders in a long while, haven't hung out with them even though we're on the same team."

Ian took a deep breath. "How do you look at them every day and still think you're friends. Think that you're so much better than them."

"I know you don't understand," Kimberly said. "But I'm trying to protect them."

"Bullshit."

"She's telling the truth, man," Zack said. "All of us…we had to make some hard sacrifices to make sure our friends and the people we cared about were safe."

"What would you know about that?" Ian demanded. His eyes took on another blaze of fury and he lifted the gun once more. Kimberly paused in her tracks. "What do you know about making bad decisions to make people safe?"

"I know a lot about it," Avalon said. "To think you don't have a choice in the matter and you make some really tough decisions that you know will damn you for the rest of your life?" She turned her wrist over to show a 'V' tattooed on the inside. "The Vipers made me make a lot of tough decisions just so I could keep my little sister safe. We've been on our own for years. I know what you're talking about, but you're in a better position I was. You haven't done anything yet, you can get out of it."

"No." Ian shook his head. "No. This was my last chance. I'm done."

"Your initiation to get in, it was to hurt people today wasn't it?" Billy asked. "It was to kill Trini?"

Tears came to Ian's eyes. His hand continued to tremble. "I didn't want to hurt her. I didn't have a choice. The minute the gun went off…I didn't know what else to do. There was nothing else I could do." He started to break down, crying harder.

"So you went after the rest of us, to push things even further. You already made your mistake and there was no coming back from it," Billy said. "So you felt there was nothing else you could do."

"You don't understand how hard it is," Ian said. "To wake up every day and realize that no one notices you. That you don't exist to many people other than those who are trying to get you to sell your soul. You realize that your life isn't good for anything. I figured that out myself and tried to do something about it." He sniffed. "I slit my wrists and was in the hospital for weeks. But when I came back no one noticed. No one cared."

"Your mom cares," Tommy said. "You said so yourself."

"Yeah, she cares enough to try and send me away."

"She wanted to send you away to save you from this. Don't make things worse."

"What would you know anyway?" Tears continued to fall down Ian's cheeks but he his voice still held power. "You were the new kid, too and you had everything I had ever wanted. Your worst day here would be my best."

Tommy's temper flared. "My worst day here is something I would never wish on anyone." His worst day was when he had been turned into the evil green ranger and started to hurt his new friends. He didn't want to relive that ever again. "But I never made the decision to—"

"Not everyone is as morale and upstanding as you are," Ian whispered. "Not everyone is as good as the rest of you. We don't try to be the best at everything and rub it in everyone's faces that they can't live up to the ideals you have. A part of every club in this goddamn school when no one cares. I bet you don't care about anyone but yourselves."

"Enough!" Jason said firmly. His character of being a ranger was being attacked; his character of being a _person_ was being attacked. He wouldn't have that. "You don't know anything about us."

"I bet it hurts that I make the judgment, without getting to know you first. Just like everyone else had done with me. What about me? What about the future I had? What if I wanted to join your club? Would you have allowed it?"

"We put our lives on the line every day to make this city safe for everyone," Zack said. All eyes turned to him and he lowered his head, licking his lips.

Ian snorted. "You think I haven't already figured out that you're the Power Rangers?" He asked. "That others haven't figured it out?" He shook his head. "We're not stupid." Then a wistful expression came to his face. "It was something Trini said to me; Physical and mental strength should go hand in hand. I didn't get what she meant when she first said it to me, but now I know she meant of working through my issues with the gang. If I was mentally strong enough to stand up to them then I could do it physically. She saw that in me but I never did." His eyes landed on Trini. "And now I've hurt her. Just like the hurt and the pain I feel every day."

"It gets better," Billy said.

"It won't. Not after this, I can't take it back." Ian's hand continued to shake. "She's going to die."

"You don't know that." Billy swallowed hard, sweat appearing on his forehead. "She could be okay. And everything will be okay."

"It's never going to be okay. Not with them coming after me." Ian took in a deep breath. He lifted his head, eyes the clearest they had been since it all started. A small smile came to his lips. "I'm sorry." He said and turned the gun to himself.

The rangers all reacted at once; screaming.

Kimberly started to run to him.

"NO!"

The gun went off.

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry this took so long to be updated again. I had so much that I needed to work on. The story's not over yet. There are still some more chapters to go. Thank you to everyone who has favorite, alerted, and reviewed so far.

I'm glad you're all enjoying the idea so much. Please let me know what you think of this one.

 **~Av**


	7. Chapter 7

**06**

* * *

Angel Grove Middle School's gymnasium was filled with students from Angel Grove High School, parents of said students, and other students looking for their friends, classmates, and children. Police walked around, barking through their walkie-talkies and to those that got in their way, and newscasters that descended upon the school as soon as the news broke shoved microphones into the students' faces, trying to get soundbites and as much information as possible.

And Marge watched it all with disgust. How could they ignore the tears and fear the students were dealing with and continue to badger them to figure out what was going on. She watched as one of the girls, a cheerleader if she remembered correctly, sat on the bleachers, tears streaming down her face as the woman from the five o'clock news kept a microphone directly in front of her lips. Marge huffed, bringing up her shoulders, and stormed over to the two.

"Do you know who the shooter is?" The newscaster, April Leery was asking. She had no emotion on her face, almost stern as she watched the cheerleader, Marley. Almost as if Marley's tears disgusted her. "Do you know why he or she would want to do this?"

"I don't know!" Marley was saying. "This wasn't supposed to happen." And she buried her face in her hands, shoulders quaking as if the earthquakes amongst every monster attack was happening. It would be their luck if they were to have a monster attack. It's be funny in a way, but also some of the worst luck they could ever have.

"But you must know something," April insisted.

Marge walked over and grabbed April's microphone from her hand, tossing it to the gym floor. There was a screech of feedback and April winced, turning away to hold her ear. "That's enough!" Marge snapped. "Don't you think it's bad enough there are people out there who might have been hurt? But all you care about is your job."

"And you are?"

"My name is Marge Brown, I go to Angel Grove High School." Marge crossed her arms, bared her teeth. "How _dare_ you go to these traumatized kids and ask how they're feeling. They're _scared_. They're _hurt_. And they just want to see their friends again, they just want everyone to be alive!"

April's eyes narrowed for a moment. A fluttering of her eyelids, almost as if she were disgusted with Marge herself. Maybe her job was on the line and Marge was keeping her from getting the scoop of a lifetime. Who cares? She was worse than the police who kept all information and emotion from those they were questioning. But at least it was their job to figure out who was the one who put the whole school in harms' way.

"And how do you, personally, feel about the situation?" April asked. She looked Marge in the eye, daring her to say anything else. "Can you put into words how you feel about the tragedy?"

Marge's jaw started to hurt, she was clenching her teeth so hard. She had never been so angry in her life. No. Not angry. She was shaking. Her adrenaline was either starting to wear off or she was much more terrified than she gave herself credit for. Hearing those bangs, hearing the glass shatter, hearing her classmates scream, some hitting the floors while others pushed and shoved each other out of the way.

"Like I want to punch you in the face," Marge replied. "How do you _think_ I feel?" She turned no her heel and glanced at Marley. A few other members of the cheerleading team had materialized out of nowhere and had wrapped her up in their arms, holding her tightly as they rocked back and forth.

"Does that warm your heart?" April asked. Something shifted into her voice this time. Something that made her sound a little more human, but also kept her professionalism. "Do you think people will tune into that every night? We're a country obsessed with tragedy, Marge. If I'm part of the problem while doing my job then so be it. But let me ask you something, how often do you spend time with people outside of your own group?"

Marge's smile faltered. How often _did_ she spend time with people outside of herself and her friends? Not so much. She was part of different organizations in school but she preferred to hang out with those she was incredibly close to. She had met Jason, Zack, Billy, Trini, and Kimberly when she had gone to the dance with Billy but after that…they all stopped. And she hadn't thought it was so weird. But now…was she as bad as everyone else?"

"Lila Hernandez?"

The question caught Marge's attention and she and April turned to find Lt. Stone walking up to a Hispanic woman who clutched her purse to her side, looking frantically around the gym. She stopped as her name was called and gave a hesitant, "Yes?"

"We need you to come with us."

Mrs. Hernandez held her purse tighter to her body. Her eyes lit up with hope as she asked, "Is my son okay? Ian?"

"Please, just, come with us," Lt. Stone said.

Mrs. Hernandez's hopeful look immediately turned to confusion, but allowed herself to be led out of the gym. It was then that Marge noticed a group of other adults gathering around together. She recognized Trini's parents and knew from the way they were segregated that they had to still be in the school, or had something to do with the incident. Marge flashed back to her statements when she got to the bus and saw the football coach, that she was with them but didn't see where they went. How she had blood all over her hand sand clothes that weren't hers…

Then she saw Mrs. Hernandez being led over to the group, saw Bailey Mitchell, Avalon's little sister, race over to Mr. and Mrs. Cranston, and knew then they were all involved.

Marge's heart sank.

She glanced over at April, who watched the group for a few moments. Then she picked up her microphone from the floor and messed with it as she took long, confident strides towards the group, hoping to pick up a few tidbits of information she clearly wasn't getting from Marge.

Marge eased herself down onto the bleachers, afraid her legs were about to give way beneath her. Her eyes filled with tears, her breathing growing heavy, she felt tingly all over. She wanted to go home, to go to bed, and wake up to know all of this was a dream…but she knew it wasn't going to be a dream. This was their reality now.

And the worst part was…the Power Rangers had done nothing to save them.

* * *

"Don't look!"

Kimberly shook her head, trying to come to terms with what she had seen. She ran hard and fast but couldn't get to Ian in time. She saw him shoot himself rather than heard it. She didn't hear herself scream, didn't hear her friends scream. Didn't hear the gun shot. All she saw was Ian turn the gun to himself and a spray of red as he fell over and hit the floor. It hit the wall and dripped down. It was only a few seconds and it had been a few _quick_ seconds, she whipped around and dropped to the floor just as the gun went off.

She was safe.

She was okay.

She hadn't been hurt.

But she had seen too much.

Then she felt Tommy grab her arm and pulled her into his chest, his strong arms around her as she started to shake. She didn't know what happened to Ian, she needed to know. Kimberly started to turn her head to look over her shoulder once more but Avalon's bark kept her from doing so.

" _Don't_ look." She crouched over Ian's body, her left hand out to rest on his neck. His eyes stared at her and she forced herself not to look back at him. She focused on her fingers on his neck and _not_ the blood stain that widened across the front of his shirt. "I've got a pulse," she said, the words coming out in a gasp. She got a good look at him then, noticing that he hadn't shot himself in the heart like they had all thought, hadn't shot himself in the head like she excepted, but shot himself in the shoulder.

Maybe he had spooked himself at the thought of it happening, maybe the ranger's screams had caused him to flinch at the last moment. As it was, he wasn't dead and from the look of the blood she didn't think he was in danger of dying either, more in shock. His eyes barely moved but his chest shallowly moved up and down. His fingers twisted every few seconds, a low gasp coming from his lips.

"What do we do?" Zack asked.

"We have to get him out of here, get him and Trini to a hospital," Jason explained.

Avalon shook her head. "You can't move him. Where he's been hit, if you move him, there'll be too much blood lost. You lot go, I'll wait here with him." The orange ranger looked over her shoulder, noticing they didn't move. Her eyes blazed with fury at first, demanding to know why they weren't moving. Then her face softened and she understood.

For most of their lives they had been sheltered by their parents and everything Angel Grove had for them. The worst thing they had ever seen was probably a few fights form Bulk and Skull before becoming rangers. Before seeing how many people were injured from being caught in the crossfire of their attacks, those that had died. Before overseeing the lives of everyone within Angel Grove. With her few years' experience of being in the Vipers, stabbings and shootings were common place for her. As sad as it was, she was too used to it than most people should be.

But that didn't mean it was ever easy for anyone.

And as she looked over the faces of her friends and teammates, Avalon knew they were feeling just as bad, just as horrified as she was. This kid was so young and he was already stuck seeing so much danger and destruction that the only way he could feel to get out was to kill himself. Honestly, she didn't know what was worse, if it was successful or the fact that it _wasn't_ successful.

Everything happened at once after that.

There was a flurry of movement.

Doors banged open.

Shouts echoed down the hallway.

And in the next few seconds the teens were surrounded by police officers dressed all in black armor, some holding up guns, others holding large shields that covered them from top to bottom. The rangers were swept up in the chaos, all talking and shouting at once.

Trini was taken from Jason's arm and quickly taken out of the school. Billy and Zack were the next ones to be taken, them taken peacefully amongst the injuries they had, but with Jason, Tommy, Kimberly, and Avalon, they were forced down onto their knees with their hands up in the air. The police patted them down before they were allowed back to their feet and led out of the school, EMTs running by to administer preliminary examination.

The next thing Kimberly knew, microphones and cameras were being shoved into her face as she walked out of the school. And while she noticed them, they also were insignificant. She only noticed the blood smeared along the floors of the school, the backpacks, books, sweatshirts, and other school supplies that were normal for any student. But things were never going to be normal with them ever again.

Kimberly considered the faces of those holding onto the microphones. Their lips moved rapidly with as many questions they could get out but she didn't hear any of what they were saying. A low roar hummed through her ears. She could feel Tommy's hand holding tightly onto hers, tighter, tighter. Her eyebrows came together in confusion. No. Why was he being taken from her.

Then she understood why.

She blinked and the crowd parted and she saw her mother, running towards her as fast as she could. So fast, she had taken off her heels and ran barefoot. And this was a woman who, like Kim, took pride in her appearance. But it all went out the window when her precious baby was in trouble. Ms. Hart grabbed Kimberly in her arms and hugged her tightly, rocking her back and forth. And then the tears fell and Kimberly felt herself sobbing like a baby who wanted nothing more than for her mother to console after she had gotten hurt.

The cameras pushed in on her and her mother but she didn't care. She safe now. Everyone was safe. They were going to go to the hospital and get patched up and everything was going to be okay.

Maybe if she thought it hard enough, it'd be true.

* * *

The next few days were a whirlwind, and Trini had been lost to those days. Once arriving at the hospital, she was immediately admitted into surgery to retrieve the bullet that had been lodged into her leg. It was bad. Not only was there already damage to the muscles, veins, and arteries in her leg from where she had been hit, but the bullet being lodged there made it worse. Once the doctors went in to retrieve the bullet, they realized the extend of the damage.

The bullet was removed and blood poured out, blood from a nearly severed artery that was held intact b the bullet's presence that was otherwise not noticed before. The backup of blood that had pooled into her leg, of which made Trini pass out, leaked out, making her life placed in jeopardy.

While she was in surgery, the other rangers got treated for their injuries. None were as extensively bad as Trini's in comparison and were all discharged from the hospital soon after being admitted. Zack's wound had been stitched shut and his arm placed in a sling, Kimberly's cuts from the glass looked worse than they were, but bandages were wrapped around her legs with strong medication prescribed to her to stave off infection. Billy's surgery had been completely in a few hours, the bullet removed from his hip and wound closed. Thankfully none of his bones had been broken but he would be in a wheelchair for some time before being moved to crutches, and Avalon's wound was mostly wood splinters embedded into her skin but like Zack, had been grazed by the bullet, resulting in stitches and careful covering of the wound.

Then they were all suggested to see the hospital's psychologist, to get an idea of what they would be going through in the next few months. PTSD was something they were bound to go through, especially with the press coverage of the event and the safety measures the school was to put into place when it opened again. Not to mention the community's response to the incident.

That's what they were already calling it. An _incident._

Their names, which used to be synonymous with their work in the community was now synonymous with the victims of the incident. With those who were in critical danger and those who had done something to stop the shooting. That's what some of the papers said. Others claimed they were part of the plot, their niceness being a front of what was to come. Their pasts were dug into, Avalon's and Bailey's residency with the Cranstons were questioned, their martial arts training and gymnastics backgrounds were eyed. Anything to make them seem like the perpetrators rather than the victims.

Angel Grove was never going to be the same and they were going to have to get used to it fast.

Still, none of them left the hospital once they were able to leave. Not just because of the press that were waiting to speak to them, but because they couldn't leave their friend behind before knowing if she was going to pull through. They camped out in the hallway outside her room, went to the cafeteria together, always took shifts in terms of being able to stretch their legs while walking around the hospital.

Jason was the one who didn't leave unless he had to go to the bathroom. Even if it was his turn to go to the cafeteria he would have one of the others bring his food back to him and continue to wait. He slept on the floor, being the first person a doctor would see when they left Trini's room, rather than the chairs that had been brought for them. He consistently relayed information to and from Mr. and Mrs. Kwan and refused to go home. When his parents forced him to change his clothes and take a shower, he was right back at the hospital.

Yawning, Jason ran his hand over his face and looked at his watch. He wasn't sure whether it was morning or night anymore. He stayed in a hallway filled with fluorescent lights. Looking at his watch didn't help pass the time, nor did it help keep him from becoming disoriented. The only thing that kept his attention at times was to close his eyes as tightly as possible and meditate. Meditating was something he struggled with at the very beginning, until Trini taught him how to become in sync with all parts of his body.

So, he meditated; using that time to calm himself. But his thoughts didn't stray far from Trini. He would never forgive himself if he waited too long to get her to safety. If he hadn't done all he could to help her. Not when there was so much more that could be done. He could've forced her to leave earlier. Could've made sure that she understood the danger she was in from the very beginning. There were so many things he would've done differently.

The rest of his friends continued to reassure him there was nothing else that could be done but he didn't to it. He knew there was a lot more that could be done. They stopped after that first attempt. They must've realized how much he cared for Trini then, if not long before he found out. Maybe the way they looked at each other when making a joke, always went to each other for training practice, looked to each other in battle. Little things that Jason hadn't put so much thought into before, though he noticed it.

They'd always been close. He never realized his burgeoning feelings until maybe it was a little too late. She had said, if he couldn't keep his promise…he didn't know for sure if he had. Finally, Jason heard the door to her room open and looked up to see her doctor slowly easing his way out of the room, to be as quiet as possible.

He looked over at Jason, watching the teen leap to his feet, eyes searching his for answers. "She's awake, and she's doing just fine," the doctor said. He hugged a clipboard to his chest. "Now, I don't have the permission to explain much to you, until her parents give consent but I believe she'll be okay."

Jason's shoulders slumped in relief. She was going to be okay. Now all he had to do was let the others know. Not after seeing how she was for himself, first. The doctor noticed his hesitation and said, "It's oaky, you can go in."

"Thank you." Jason reached out and grabbed the doctor's hand, shaking it firmly. "Thank you, so much." He waited for the doctor to leave before taking in a deep breath and going into Trini's room. Flowers, balloons, cards, and stuffed animals from the gift shop covered nearly every inch of the room. Trini was looking at them as her eyelids fluttered, struggling to keep her eyes open.

Then Trini noticed him and managed a small smile. "So, do you think we'll ever get anything as big as this after our ranger duties?" She asked in nearly a whisper. "Because I could get used to this."

Jason laughed to himself. He couldn't do anything else but laugh. He'd cried enough when he was released after his examination, when his mother and father had finally been able to see him. He cried more than he could remember. Now he felt nothing but elation, everyone and everything was okay.

"The gifts, maybe, the hospital, I don't think so," Jason said. He stood over her with a gentle smile. "I don't think any of us will want to explain how we keep getting hurt."

"I think you're right," Trini agreed. She frowned. "Zordon and Alpha?"

"We haven't been able to get our communicators and morphers from the school yet. But so far no one has found them." Jason reached out and grabbed her hand, gently rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. "I'm sure they know what's been going on and are relieved to know we're okay."

"And proud," Trini said.

"Proud?"

Jason wasn't sure what there was to be proud about. They didn't do anything to stop Ian from his rampage, didn't save him from the problems they were having. They got stuck in the school and were victims themselves. They did a lot more just fighting off the putties than anything else. What did they do?

"That we didn't run away," Trini said. She continued, seeming to have read his thoughts, something she always managed to do, "We don't need powers or to be proactive in everything we do to be heroes. It's in the little things that we do and that we don't expect the recognition for it."

"I don't know, your idea about having some sort of gifts from these guys would be great!" Jason and Trini laughed. Jason couldn't help but notice how quiet her laugh was. Her energy must've been fading fast. "I'll let you get some rest."

"No, it's okay." Trini squeezed his hand. "I wanted to thank you."

"For what?"

"For keeping your promise."

"I didn't do much."

"You did enough." Trini motioned for Jason to get closer. He leaned down and she pressed a gently kiss to his cheek, making him smile. There was a knock on the door and Lt. Stone walked into the room, removing his hat form his head. "Lt. Stone."

"Trini." Lt. Stone nodded. "I wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm alive to see another day," Trini said. Jason smiled. She was the only one could be so positive all the time. But then he noticed the expression on Lt. Stone's face. Something in his eyes. There was something wrong. Trini must've noticed it too. "What's wrong, Lt. Stone?"

"We have some news on Ian Hernandez," Lt. Stone said.

Jason held his breath. Ian had been in a medically induced coma since he was admitted to the hospital. Since then it seemed that he was getting better as the days passed and they were expecting him to wake up soon. His vitals were steadily increasing and there was recorded brain activity. What was it that he came to say?

"I want to see him," Trini said, suddenly. She struggled to sit up, using Jason's arm as support. For someone who was in a hospital bed, she still had a lot of strength. It hit him then, that if they weren't rangers, she surely would've died. No one was invincible, but their ranger powers helped the notion. "I need to talk to him."

"Is there any reason that you believe it would be better for you to speak to him?" Lt. Stone asked gently.

"I'm the only one who he trusts," Trini explained. "Please. I talked to him for a long time. I understand how he's feeling, I'm the only one he'll talk to."

Lt. Stone let out a long sigh. "Trini, I'm sorry…Ian passed away this morning."

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry I've bene so MIA guys, there's been so much car problems and other stuff I've been going through. But everything is fine now and I've got this chapter up for you guys.

I'm glad you're all enjoying the idea so much. Thank you for all of the recent favorites and alerts. Please let me know what you think of this one.

 **~Av**


	8. Chapter 8

**08**

* * *

How?

How do you get through it?

How do you get through things that you'd never thought you'd experience in your lifetime? How do you get through the fact that your safe spaces aren't safe anymore? How do you move on when you don't sleep? When you have constant nightmares? When you're plagued by what you saw even during your waking hours?

How do you continue to live when a life was cut short?

Trini was working to figure out the answer. No matter how many times she meditated, took time for herself to be one with nature, space and time, to gain some clarity, she couldn't make sense of it. It never made sense, but for a life to be cut short so young? When she knew he was scared and didn't know how to get out of his life. She tried her hardest in the days after hearing of Ian's death to make sense of it.

The times she sat and laid in her hospital bed was spent mediating, trying to connect to it. Trying to connect to _him_ spiritually, if she was telling the truth. When she finally, fully felt and understood he was gone she cried and cried. Her heart hurt, broken into a million pieces, shattering along with her sense of reality. He was gone and he wasn't going to come back.

And it seemed she was the only one who truly cared. His mother came to visit her in the hospital, to let her know how much she appreciated Trini's help in trying to listen and help Ian.

"He told you about that?" Trini asked quietly.

Ms. Hernandez nodded. She reached out and patted Trini's hand, grasping it firmly between hers. Her hold was firm, yet gentle. The way only mothers seemed able to do. "He spoke about you often. He said you were someone who was making school bearable for him, but that you were pushing him as well. He was getting better. His grades were improving, he was happier than he had been. But I knew he was still in trouble. Every time he left the house he would stop to tell me he was proud of me and that he loved me. In case he'd never be able to do it again. I saw the fear in his face every time he left the house. He tried to hide it, so I wouldn't worry, but I saw it."

"Ms. Hernandez, I'm so…" Trini couldn't finish. Her throat closed, a thick lump keeping her from speaking. Tears dripped down her face one by one until she leaned over and sobbed. She cried over Ian's life, cried over what he would never experience. She cried because she felt all her work was for nothing. It was selfish, she knew, life could be selfish that way.

But she tried and she tried hard to help him.

 _She had taken one look at Ian when he walked into the room the first day. She knew she had to help him. She had been talking to Marge, probably about the upcoming dance, when she spotted movement in the doorway and looked up. Ian hesitated, leaning over as he glanced around the room that was used for their program. He chewed his lower lip, tapped his fingers on his backpack strap, shuffled his feet._

 _Trini pushed back from her seat and walked over to him. "Hi," She said brightly. "Can I help you?"_

 _Ian's eyes flicked to her face then bounced around the room once more. A locker was slammed in the hallway, making him jump. "Um." He took a breath. "I was hoping I could…um, talk to someone."_

 _"Well, you're in the right." Trini picked up a clipboard that sat on a table next to her and a pen. "Can you tell me what you want to talk about? If it's really personal we can slowly get into it."_

 _"I, uh, I think I'm in trouble. And I don't know what to do."_

 _"Okay. What sort of trouble? Bullies? School work?"_

 _"Um, the first one. Bullies." Ian took a step back and said something under his breath in Spanish. He looked over his shoulder then turned to face her again, fingers fluttering on his backpack strap. Trini couldn't help but notice his nerves. "Sort of."_

 _"When you talk about your problem do you respond better to silence or a full conversation."_

 _"Uh, a conversation, I guess?"_

 _"What grade are you in?"_

 _"I'm a freshman. I just transferred here."_

 _"Okay, one more thing." Trini clutched the clipboard to her chest. Ian's eyes widened as the seconds passed and the two waited in silence. With a light giggle, Trini decided to give him a break. "What's your name?"_

 _"Oh!" Ian smiled for the first time. A dazzling smile. "My name's Ian Hernandez."_

 _"Nice to meet you, Ian. I'm Trini."_

That wasn't the hardest part. No, the hardest, most heartbreakingly disastrous part was the reaction to Ian's death. Many people celebrated, not understanding he was a victim of what happened as well. He hadn't killed anyone but himself, and while he hadn't and others were injured, he was and always would be a victim. A victim of a life that was systematically created for him to fail. He was afraid of dying when being placed in the gang but had been terrified of life within it as well.

He was as much of a victim as everyone else but the media and other students labeled him a psychotic freak who finally snapped.

He wasn't like that.

Even when she had been released from the hospital, months later, she knew things were different. People looked at her differently, they whispered behind her back. She was the one who tried to help him. She must've known what had been going on. Why didn't she say anything? She could've stopped them?

And her friends got it, too. If they knew she was talking to him, why didn't they help? Why didn't _they_ say something? But the hardest part of all, was the accusations that the Power Rangers didn't do anything to help them. They had the time to save as the city from monsters but didn't want to go in and help a bunch of teenagers who were being shot at, targeted for murder.

The rangers had all gathered in the Command Center in the few days after Trini's release from the hospital. They had been in contact since Billy was able to retrieve the morphers and communicators from his locker. When he gave her communicator to her, Billy couldn't look her in the eye. He was so ashamed. It was his idea to work on them while Zordon and Alpha were during their recharge, it was his idea to keep them into his locker to use later. And it came back to bite them in the ass when they really needed it.

Trini would never blame him for it. He had enough blame for himself, sure, but to have the rest of the city to turn on them as well made him more depressed than being confined to a wheelchair until the doctor cleared him. They were all depressed. Avalon was angry that she couldn't see gang tactics in another student when she herself had gone through it. Jason was angry because there wasn't anything he could've done to help the situation any more than he already had. Billy was angry that he kept the morphers and communicators. Zack was angry that he didn't try to stop Ian when he had their class hostage. Tommy was angry at himself for his selfishness. Hindsight was 20/20 and he felt he should've tried to get more students out of the school and to safety instead of just looking for Kimberly. Kimberly was just angry; how no one saw how hurt Ian was, how she couldn't stop him from shooting himself, how she reacted with so much fear when he held them hostage.

"We've been against scarier monsters and I couldn't do anything," Kimberly said.

"Human have the opportunity to be even scarier than monsters," Billy reminded her. Hands resting on the wheels of his wheelchair, he gently rocked himself back and forth, like nervous pacing. "That's something I think we forget."

"We fight these guys to save the city because they're the biggest threat to everyone here," Tommy said slowly. "It's easy to forget."

"We live in a fantasy," Trini said. Jason, who stood beside her, holding his hand, glanced at her. "We started out being rangers because we thought it'd be cool. I know, at least, I did. Being a superhero, who wouldn't want that? But sometimes, we forget that we're still human."

"Humans can be some of the most horrifying monsters you'd never expect," Avalon agreed. She reached up, pressing her finger to the scar on the right side of her face. It extended from her jaw up to the apple of her cheek. She had told them once—and only once—how she had gotten it from getting on the bad side of one of her fellow gang members. "Because they hide in plain sight and can hide their worst flaws until they need to show them."

"Ay yi yi, rangers, don't be so hard on yourselves," Alpha said. "You did everything you could."

"Did we?" Jason asked. "There were more things we could've done."

"Rangers," Zordon's voice boomed above them, grabbing their attention. "I understand the pain you're going through. There will always be setbacks to what you come up against as rangers and in your personal lives. I am proud to have you working with us."

"But Zordon, if we could morph… "Zack started.

Zordon cut him off. "Your inability to morph doesn't hinder your gut instincts to help those around you. To make decisions to keep them as safe as possible."

"But what does that mean when we couldn't save him?" Kimberly asked. She had taken it hard. For a girl who was always so bright and bubbly, she wore no makeup and mumbled. Trini was sure she wasn't sleeping well, was still playing it to in her head time and time again.

"You're not going to be able to save everyone," Alpha reminded them. "Zordon and I have been working together for a long time and we've lost a lot of friends and family over the years. It's hard, but it's something we've grown used to."

"We've never lost someone like this before," Trini said. "In our real, personal lives." That was the hardest divide they made in their lives. If things bled over, it'd be too hard to differentiate between the two. It'd be harder to keep their family safe. Their lives were split in half; their personal lives with their families and friends and schoolwork and their ranger lives with their constant fight against Rita and Zedd.

They've lost people when working as rangers but as themselves…? It was too hard to bear.

"What are we supposed to do?" Avalon asked. "The city bloody hates us because we couldn't morph."

"You have to continue to hold faith that the believe in you," Zordon said. "To protect and serve this city in the way you have over the last couple of years. We're proud of everything you all have accomplished and you should be proud of yourselves."

"Zordon and I already always here if you need any guidance," Alpha added.

"Thanks, Alpha," Tommy said.

But Trini wasn't sure if that was all they needed to do. Having trust in people and earning their trust was fundamental for relationships. And relationships with others helped people grow. If their relationship with the public was broken what did that mean for how they'd move forward?

Once Trini could walk without the aid of crutches she decided. At first Jason, who continued to stay by her side, couldn't really understand the reasoning behind it. But she knew he'd turn around. All of them did. So, she led the way, holding tightly onto Jason's hand, across the cemetery to Ian's gravestone. It continued to be vandalized with terrible words of blame, headstone knocked over, grass ripped up. And every time Trini went back to fix it up.

This time, they were going to pay their respects.

Trini lowered a bouquet of a rainbow of flowers onto the grass of Ian's tombstone and stood back amongst her friends, blending in with their black clothes. They hadn't attended the funeral before, Ms. Hernandez made it quick and for family only. She was upset about that.

 _I'm making up for it now,_ Trini said. She closed her eyes as a gentle breeze blew around them. _Whatever it is you need to tell me, Ian, I'm listening._

They had been powerless to stop what had gone on that day at school.

She had been powerless to help him from the beginning, everything was bigger than them.

They were powerless to keep their city safe for once. The only time. They'll do better. They had to.

Trini felt the wind die down, the last few seconds caressing the side of her face. She smiled.

Things were going to be okay, if it took time for them to move on.

* * *

 **THE END**

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you guys, _so much_ for the support you gave me on this story. It was fun to write as I haven't done a lot stories that focused on the rangers' lives as normal humans rather than their powers and fight against Rita and Zedd.

I do have other stories planned for this series (yes _Powerless_ is now turning into a series); with one story focusing on each ranger. I have ideas for Kim, Billy, Trini, and Avalon but nothing for Jason, Zack, or Tommy so far. I'm either going to do Kim's or Billy's next (Billy's being a finish/re-write of _In Too Deep_ ). So, let me know what you think, and thanks again!

 **~Av**


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